New London — Five developers submitted proposals last week to buy the century-old Lighthouse Inn, with ideas of redeveloping the property as anything from a high-end inn to condominium units.

“There were five proposals that came in, which is great,” Ned Hammond, the city’s economic development coordinator, said Monday. “It beat my expectations, and I’m really happy to see some of those people we showed it to came through with proposals.”

Last month, the Office of Development and Planning requested that developers submit proposals to take the former inn’s three buildings and its 4.2 acres on Guthrie Place off the city’s hands and put them back on the tax rolls.

Hammond said the proposals “run from re-establishing the traditional inn use to changing it entirely to private residential uses, which could be condominiums and/or apartments.” The proposed uses, he said, cover nearly all the serious ideas interested developers mentioned when visiting the property.

“We do have some options. All of this will have to be explored. We really don’t want to sort of prejudice one against the others at this time until everyone has the opportunity to get all the details,” Hammond said. “It’s fantastic that there has been this interest in it, and I think going forward there is an opportunity for Lighthouse Inn to be back in productive use.”

Once Hammond reviews all of the proposals, the City Council will begin the process of selecting a “preferred developer” for the property. Hammond said he is working on a summary of the proposals to be presented to the council with the details of each proposal.

“I think the council really needs to see the full spread. Because of the five proposals and because of the different uses proposed, it’s going to require a lot more thought and I think (the council) will have some questions and we’ll get some guidance there,” he said. “We really want to get it going as quickly as possible so the new property owner can get started on what they need to get started on, but by the same token everyone wants a responsible decision to be made.”

Currently, the property is in limbo. A tax auction in 2013 failed to elicit a single bid at the minimum price of about $577,000, and a year ago the City Council rejected the only offer the city received from a developer after publishing a previous RFP.

New Haven businessman Anthony D. Acri III, who had bid $1.25 million for the Lighthouse Inn at auction in 2010 but later withdrew his offer, offered last year to buy the inn from the city for $100,000 — far below the minimum starting bid of $500,000. The City Council unanimously rejected Acri’s offer.

Built in 1902, the inn closed abruptly in 2008, but still elicits fond memories among residents of brunches, weddings and special events. Two main buildings on the property, including a 53,000-square-foot mansion and 33,000-square-foot carriage house, together offered 51 guest rooms.

The condition of the shuttered Lighthouse Inn is perpetually deteriorating and the property’s assessed value recently dropped from $3 million to $1.6 million, according to the city. The city had been providing security and maintenance for the property as it sought a developer, but has since cut funding for inn upkeep.

c.young@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung