BANGOR (AP) – A nonprofit organization that focuses on providing access to health care regardless of ability to pay is looking to redevelop the former campus of Bangor Theological Seminary.

Penobscot Community Health Care hopes to use part of the 9.25-acre campus as a site for health care and social service providers. Other nonprofits could use portions of the property for other purposes, ranging from apartments for low-income seniors and medical students to a depository for rare books.

The plan was unveiled Thursday during a meeting of Bangor’s historic preservation commission. Several of the buildings on campus are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The property, near the junction of Hammond and Union streets, consists of three academic buildings and six residences, including the former home of Hannibal Hamlin, Abraham Lincoln’s first vice president. The campus was donated to the seminary in 1819.

After 186 years at that location, the seminary moved to Husson College in 2005. Officials said the campus was put on the market because it was too costly to maintain its facilities at a time when more students were choosing to live off-campus.

The property was sold last August to Bangor developer Paul Cook and Portland businessman Kenneth Ray for $1.65 million. The new owners, who formed Seminary Redevelopment LLC, have been renting residential and commercial space on the campus.

Penobscot Community Health Care is working toward developing the property into a “model community service center” that would be named after Joshua Chamberlain, a seminary graduate and Civil War hero who served as governor of Maine and president of Bowdoin College.

The proposed Joshua Chamberlain Campus for Community Services would be the outgrowth of a group effort involving such potential partners as Community Housing of Maine, the Bangor Public Library, Husson College and the University of New England, said the Rev. Robert Carlson, president of Penobscot Community Health Care.

The organization’s board authorized a purchase and sale agreement in January, but the actual purchase price is still being negotiated, he said.

“The potential is exciting,” Carlson said. “If we can make this happen, it’ll be great for the community.”

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-04-12-08 1129EDT