A legal dispute is intensifying over the future of the former Wells College campus in Aurora, New York as attorneys for the college ask a judge to allow the planned sale of the property to move forward.
According to reporting by The Citizen, the college is urging a state Supreme Court judge to reject an attempt by the Cayuga Nation to block the $12.5 million sale of the 127-acre campus.
The Cayuga Nation argues the property sits on ancestral land and has raised questions about whether the proposed buyer, the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge, has the financing needed to complete the purchase.
Attorneys for the college disputed those claims, saying the institute has financial backing from Native American Bank for up to $25 million to support the purchase and prepare the site for future development, according to The Citizen.
The college is also asking the court to dismiss a challenge from the Minerva Institute of Aurora, which submitted a competing bid for the property.
The campus has been closed since Wells College shut down in 2024. A preliminary conference in the case is scheduled for March 11.
