Norwich — Legal and contractual issues that have held up the sale of the nearly 50-acre Norwich portion of the former Norwich Hospital property appear to be resolved, and developer Mark Fields said Monday he planned to sign the contract.

"The property is zoned for a wide variety of uses," Fields said. "It's just the matter of what the market can bear, and what's the best use of the property."

Fields, a member of Thames River Landing LLC, the development firm that reached an agreement with the state to buy the abandoned property in 2013, said a closing date to finalize the purchase has not been set. Once he obtains the property, he plans to seek financing for the environmental cleanup and work on potential future development.

The Norwich contract progress comes as Preston officials this week are meeting with a team of real estate experts from the Counselors of Real Estate that is studying marketing and potential uses of the renamed Preston Riverwalk property. The CRE team this week is touring the property and interviewing town and regional leaders and will present its report publicly at 9 a.m. Friday at the Hilton Gardens Hotel on Route 2 in Preston.

Unlike Preston, which took over ownership of the 393-acre former hospital property in that town, Norwich declined to take ownership of the Norwich portion, leading the state to sell it as surplus property with the developer to take responsibility for the environmental cleanup and demolition of the decaying buildings.

The state had approved Thames River Landing LLC's proposed purchase of the 49.65-acre property for $300,000 in summer of 2013, but development partner Ronald Shelton of Farmington died a month later.

The contract became part of Shelton's estate, and the parties had to wait for the probate court to settle the estate before the sale could move forward.

Officials from the state Department of Administrative Services and Fields both said Monday that those issues have been resolved, along with necessary contract language changes to remove Shelton as the listed managing partner of the development firm.

John McKay, spokesman for DAS, said Monday that the contract must to be signed by officials at the Attorney General's office, the state Office of Policy and Management and the DAS commissioner. It is unclear what the timeline is for those approvals, he said.

The initial contract called for Thames River Landing LLC to pay a nonrefundable deposit of $30,000, which was paid in 2012. The remaining $270,000 is due by wire transfer or bank check at the closing, which was to be held 60 days following final state approval of the sales agreement.

In June 2013, Shelton had told the General Assembly's Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and the Government Administration and Elections Committee that the LLC planned to develop the property with tourism attractions to take advantage of the proximity to the region's two casinos and the state's renewed emphasis on tourism.

Fields said Monday it's too early to say what development Thames River Landing LLC might propose. The final cleanup costs might also depend on future uses, because some potential uses would require more extensive cleanup, he said.

The sale involves a 40.95-acre parcel on the east side of Route 12 at the Preston line that includes a former residential subdivision for hospital employees along with institutional buildings.

On the Thames River side of Route 12, the developer would purchase an 8.7-acre parcel that borders Preston - and includes a tiny portion of one building that stands mostly in Preston. The parcel also borders the former Brewster farm owned by the Mohegan tribe.

Norwich Mayor Deberey Hinchey and Norwich Community Development Corp. President Robert Mills said Monday they have not been contacted by Fields and look forward to meeting with him.

Sean Nugent, chairman of the Preston Redevelopment Agency, said he too looks forward to hearing from Fields about his plans for the Norwich property.

"It's great that it's out of probate," Nugent said. "I look forward to talking to Mark Fields to see if there's any opportunity to work together."

c.bessette@theday.com

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