New London — The city has secured a tentative agreement to purchase the former Edgerton School property and with it the potential future site of a municipal community center. 

The City Council next week will review a draft agreement to purchase a 3.33-acre parcel at 120 Cedar Grove Ave. for $350,000 from owner Peter Levine, principal of New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Colman Square Partners LLC.

Levine bought the property in 2010 for about the same price and through the years has pitched ideas that included, most recently, a domed recreation facility.

He has completed several projects around the city, including conversion of the former SNET building at 73 Washington St. into apartments and developing the United Electric building at 13 Washington St. into apartments and retail space.

His ideas for the deteriorating school, however, never came to fruition. The property is now in bank foreclosure, and Levine owes more than $50,000 in city taxes on the property.

Last year Levine sold two lots he owned that abut the school, including 413 Colman St. and a basketball court, to O’Reilly Automotive Stores Inc. for $450,000.

The company has plans for an auto parts store there, according to attorney Anthony Basilica, who represents Levine.

The Colman Street property is the site of a former real estate development company and most recently Nextel Communications. All three properties, with 4.3 acres, were at one time marketed.

The former Edgerton School abuts Veterans Field, which was used for swing space and placement of portable classrooms during several school construction projects.

It was at one time the preferred site for a community center.

Plans are being developed for $850,000 in upgrades to the field, to be funded from money left over from past school building projects.

Mayor Michael Passero, who has long been an advocate of a community center, said that coupled with the upcoming field improvements, the former school property was a “perfect piece of land” for a municipal use such as a recreational center.

He has not ruled out other ideas and said he expects the City Council and public to weigh in on potential uses.

“My hope is at least we can take it back, secure it and breathe immediate life into the community center effort … a shared amenity for the community,” Passero said.

A key to the proposal of a recreational center would be a partnership with an entity such as the YMCA so that the cost of upkeep would not rely on taxpayers, Passero said.

The City Council on Tuesday will be asked to move the draft agreement to the Planning and Zoning Commission to ensure it complies with the Plan of Conservation and Development.

The purchase would eventually need City Council approval.

Basilica said Levine has agreed to pay outstanding liens against the property, along with back taxes, prior to the sale.

Economic Development Coordinator Ned Hammond, in a document prepared for the council, estimates that total taxes and fees to be paid to the city will be at least $118,477.

The property has an assessed value of $735,770 and has frontage on both Cedar Grove Avenue and Elm Street. The annual tax loss to the city from taking over the ownership would be $29,056.

Passero said that in order for the council to go into deliberations with “eyes wide open,” Hammond’s document contains estimates for things like potential site work and maintenance.

Those costs could include anything from the $122,600 for building cleanup to $189,550 for building demolition.

Levine could not be reached for comment. Basilica said Levine had already completed some major improvements to the site that included some environmental cleanup, weatherproofing of the building and removal of a 6,000-gallon underground fuel storage tank.

City records show he has paid $64,356 in taxes and fees to the city.

Basilica said the mortgage holder, which court records list as People’s Bank, is aware of the potential sale and is working with Levine through the process.

g.smith@theday.com

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