SACO — Students attending University College at Saco in the fall will be going to the Saco Valley Shopping Center to attend classes.

The University of Maine Board of Trustees voted yesterday to move the Saco learning center from Saco Island to the shopping center, according to Sheri Stevens, executive director of Administrative Services at the University of Maine at Augusta.

University College at Saco currently occupies about 8,700 square feet in a former mill building, under a lease that expires Aug. 31.

University College at Saco is one of eight University College distance learning centers across the state, providing access to courses from the University of Maine’s seven universities. In fiscal year 2013, 499 students attended classes in the fall, spring or summer semesters, according to the university.

University College has been reviewing its space requirements for each of its centers statewide, and as leases expire, the university is reducing the size of college centers when possible.

The new location at the shopping center will, at about 4,000 square feet, be slightly less than half the square footage of the current location.

The university will save about $24,500 a year on rent and related charges, including snow removal and parking, and operating costs will be reduced due to the decrease in size, according to the university.

The building’s owner will contribute $50,000 toward necessary renovations of the shopping center location, and the university will spend $150,000 from its reserves to cover renovations and another $50,000 to cover costs associated with relocation, including moving and telecommunication system installation, according to the university.

Stevens said the university doesn’t need the amount of space it currently rents at Saco Island. She said the new location will be more visible and have improved access.

“They’ve been wonderful tenants,” said Kevin Mattson, president of Dirigo Capitol Advisors, which owns the building that houses the Saco learning center. “We’re certainly sorry to see them go, but these things happen.”

The University Center had at one time planned to move to a different building on the island, but it wasn’t economically feasible for the university, said Mattson.

Mattson said with the current budget cuts at the University of Maine, it’s good to hear that the Saco center will still be in operation.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.