TRENTON – Friends of Acadia has announced it plans to buy the 369-acre Crippens Creek property on Route 3 where the proposed Acadia Gateway Center would be built.

The Friends group will buy the property from the Atlanta-based Nacoochee Corp. for an undisclosed amount and sell 150 acres of it to the Maine Department of Transportation, FOA indicated Tuesday in a prepared statement. The rest of the property will be protected from development.

The first phase of the proposed center is a maintenance and storage facility for the seasonal Island Explorer bus system, which serves the Mount Desert Island area. The propane-powered bus system, which was established in 1999 to help reduce traffic congestion in Acadia National Park and on MDI, currently uses the parking lot of Trenton IGA for these functions.

State officials have said they hope to have the facility built and operational by 2010. The facility eventually could include a welcome center for park visitors, officials also have said.