CARIBOU, Maine — A buyer is interested in purchasing Caribou’s former Sitel building on Sweden Street, but few additional details are available at this time, according to Caribou City Manager Dennis Marker.
The city manager mentioned during an April 21 city council meeting that Sitel was working on a deal to sell its building, adding that council would need to discuss the details in executive session. Marker said on April 22 that no action was taken following the session.
The name of the buyer was not revealed during the open council meeting.
From 2015 to October of 2019, Sitel employed roughly 100 people and provided the city of Caribou with a total of $178,269.65 in tax revenue. The call center, which is located at 63 Sweden St., closed on Oct. 31 with Sitel officials citing “recent business changes” as the reason for closure, adding that they did not plan to relocate to another building in the area.
According to its 2019 municipal tax bill, the property is valued at $1,383,000.
Soon after the closure, the city council, along with a public safety building committee, considered purchasing the space to use as a police station, citing storage issues and cramped working conditions at the current police station in the bottom floor of the municipal building.
The city hired Artifex Architects to look at the Sitel building, in addition to other buildings throughout the city, as possible locations for a new public safety facility. Marker said on April 21 that the architects identified multiple concerns with the Sitel building that would make it incompatible for police operations. Architects found that the former call center would need to undergo significant modifications in order to meet the codes for a public safety building.
At this time, Marker said he can not disclose who the buyer is or where they are based until the deal closes. He said it is also unclear how the buyer intends to use the building.
“The city was instrumental in finding the purchaser, but no plans have been presented back to the city for consideration,” he said.
Since the deal would be taking place between Sitel and the buyer, Marker said Caribou officials are not privy to the transaction details or timeframe being considered.
