A Texas-based software company has bought the University Inn in Orono
An Orono hotel that announced its permanent closure less than two weeks ago has sold to a Texas-based software company that will convert the property into office space.
Tyler Technologies, which provides software to the public sector, will convert the 57-year-old University Inn and Suites into office space for up to 75 employees, 36 of whom will move from the company’s current offices in Bangor. Tyler presently employs more than 1,200 people in Maine in its Bangor, Falmouth and Yarmouth offices.
“Tyler is excited to expand our presence in Maine with the purchase of the Orono facility,”
Chris Hepburn, president of Tyler’s Enterprise Group, said Wednesday. “We have strong ties to the local area, and having this new space will allow us to strengthen our commitment to hiring in Maine.”
The company plans to begin renovations sometime in 2022, and once the work is complete, it will also offer space for members of the Orono community to hold events during the company’s non-work hours.
The University Inn announced its closure earlier this month. The hotel, located on College Avenue in Orono, opened in 1964. For the past 21 years, it has been owned by Tracey Whitten, who also owns the Black Bear Inn and Conference Center, also in Orono.
Hepburn said the company’s expansion into Orono represents its commitment to the growth of Maine’s technology industry.
For the past eight years, the company has funded a scholarship competition in Maine high schools called the Maine App Challenge, in which students create their own mobile apps and enter them into the competition. The competition is organized in partnership with the Foster Center for Student Innovation at the nearby University of Maine.
The company’s move to the Orono office space “will help us foster job opportunities for both full-time employees and for internship candidates, as well as strengthen our relationship with community partners,” Hepburn said.
Tyler Technologies has acquired several Maine tech companies over the years, including Computer Center Software in Falmouth in 1999, GBF Information Systems in Portland in 2003, Advanced Data Systems in Bangor in 2007 and Sage Data Security in Portland in 2018.