A dispute over the former Wells College campus in Aurora is now headed to court after the Hiawatha Institute for Indigenous Knowledge filed a lawsuit against Wells College, challenging the college’s decision to cancel a $12.5 million sale of the property.
According to the Auburn Citizen, the Hiawatha Institute is asking the court to block Wells College’s termination of the purchase agreement and to keep the transaction in place, arguing the deal collapsed due to unresolved issues on the seller’s side rather than buyer default.
Wells College, however, has taken the position that the Hiawatha Institute failed to meet its obligation to proceed to closing and did not correct what the college described as a contractual default, prompting the decision to end the agreement.
At the center of the dispute are delays involving documentation and conditions required under the purchase and sale agreement. The Hiawatha Institute claims Wells did not provide key campus utility billing records for 2024 and 2025 in a timely manner, along with delays in issuing right-of-first-refusal waivers tied to portions of the property.
Those rights were held by the village of Aurora and Pleasant T. Rowland, LLC. According to the lawsuit, the waivers were required under the agreement by early February, but the village waiver was not delivered until March, which the institute argues pushed back required review and closing timelines.
The complaint also references ongoing litigation involving the Cayuga Nation and another prospective bidder, which the institute says created uncertainty over whether a clear and marketable title could legally be transferred.
Communication between the two sides escalated in May. Wells College set a May 28 closing date, while the Hiawatha Institute responded by pointing to unresolved legal issues it believed prevented closing from going forward.
Wells College later described that correspondence as a “title notice” and maintained its position that the deal should either close immediately or be terminated. The institute disputes that interpretation, saying its concerns were related to contract conditions rather than a formal title objection.
Shortly before the deadline, Hiawatha also received notice from Stewart Title Guaranty Company indicating it would not be able to issue title insurance while litigation remained unresolved.
After the May deadline passed, Wells College notified the institute in early June that it was in default under the agreement. Later that month, the college formally ended the contract and sought release of a $500,000 deposit held in escrow.
The Hiawatha Institute is now asking the court to uphold the agreement and prevent its termination while the case proceeds. No court dates have been set.
