The Cayuga Nation and a former bidder are asking a judge to intervene in court proceedings over the proposed sale of the former Wells College campus in Aurora, according to The Citizen.
Both parties have filed motions in Cayuga County Court, where the college is seeking approval to sell its 127-acre campus as part of its wind-down process following its 2024 closure.
Wells College announced in January that it accepted a $12.5 million offer from the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge. The organization has said it plans to use about 20% of the property for an Indigenous college, with the remaining space developed for commercial use.
In court filings, the Cayuga Nation argues the proposal does not adequately reflect the cultural significance of the land, which it says is part of its ancestral territory. The Nation also questions whether the institute has secured sufficient financing and says it was not consulted about the project.
The Hiawatha Institute has said it obtained a loan from Native American Bank to fund the purchase.
A separate motion was filed by Harriet Higgins, whose organization, the Minerva Institute of Aurora, submitted an unsuccessful bid for the property.
Higgins argues the bidding process was flawed and that she was not given an equal opportunity to match or exceed the winning offer. She says her proposal included an escalation clause and was backed by more than $15 million in pledged funds.
However, court documents submitted by Wells College show Higgins’ base offer was $5 million, with an escalation clause allowing the bid to rise to $7.5 million.
In addition to the campus sale, Wells College is asking the court to approve the sale of seven off-campus properties expected to generate about $2.8 million, along with artwork and rare books to be sold through auction houses.
All sales require court approval as part of the college’s asset disposition process.
A virtual preliminary conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. March 11. The case is being overseen by Darius Lind, a state Supreme Court justice, who will decide whether either party may intervene.
A similar request by the Village of Aurora to intervene in a previous Wells College court case was denied last year, suggesting the current motions may not be approved. Further rulings are expected following the March hearing.
