A federal judge has denied a motion to halt the sale of a University of Maine System building in Belfast, siding with the system against an evangelical church that once planned to purchase the building. That means the state’s public university system can move forward with its plan to sell the building to a Waldo County nonprofit.

Judge Stacey Neumann issued the ruling Friday morning, following a hearing Monday afternoon at the U.S. District Court in Bangor.

The University of Maine System received three bids when it put its Belfast Hutchinson Center building up for sale last summer. The highest bid came from Calvary Chapel Belfast, which planned to use the space to expand its congregation.

But the other two bidders filed appeals, many community members objected, and in September the system rescinded its offer to Calvary Chapel, citing a deficiency in the bid assessment process that didn’t account for the potential cost savings related to keeping a network hub currently located in the building in place.

The system hosted a new bidding process in November and this time awarded the building to Waldo Community Action Partners (WCAP), a nonprofit that offered $3.06 million. Calvary Chapel bid $1.1 million in the second round, and the third bidder, the Future of the Hutchinson Center Steering Committee/Waterfall Arts, offered $1.8 million.

The church filed a lawsuit in November against the university system and several administrators, citing religious discrimination in the bidding and sale process. It also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to halt the planned sale of the building.

The church’s attorneys argued that the university system, “unlawfully conspired and discriminated against the church on the basis of religion in violation of the First and 14th Amendments” and described the second bidding process as “rigged.”

But in her ruling, Neumann said the church did not present sufficient evidence that the system was motivated by religious bias, or that the second round of bidding was rigged.

“Though there is evidence of religious hostility from the community and from the disappointed bidders, there is no evidence of any animus on behalf of any defendant, nor are the alleged procedural anomalies merely pretext to cover for such animus or to bow to public pressure,” it reads.

Calvary Chapel is being represented by Liberty Counsel, a Christian ministry based in Orlando, Florida, that litigates on behalf of religious freedom causes. Its mission is “restoring the culture by advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and the family.”

Daniel Schmid, one of the Liberty Counsel attorneys representing Calvary, said in a phone interview after the ruling that he disagreed with the judge’s rationale but said the church’s attorneys plan to depose system employees and gather evidence in advance of an evidentiary hearing, which he expects will happen in early February.

He said temporary restraining orders are difficult to argue for because they’re emergency orders that happen on a tight timeline.

“We’re optimistic for our chances for a preliminary injunction,” Schmid said.

In an emailed statement Friday, system spokesperson Samantha Warren said that the system offered a transparent and competitive bidding process.

“We welcome today’s decision by the court, which affirms the integrity of our process and our continued commitment to acting in the best interests of our public university system and the tuition and taxpayers of Maine,” Warren said. “The system will continue to defend itself in any further proceedings on this matter.”