Groton — The town plans to ask the state to convey to it 68 acres of mostly forested land surrounding the former Mystic Education Center, which the town hopes will improve the property's marketing and economic development potential.

State Rep. John Scott, R-Groton, approached the Groton Town Council with the idea on Tuesday and the council agreed to go forward. The request would become part of a larger conveyance bill that includes different properties from across the state, Scott said.

Groton's application is due March 1, and Scott would bring it to the legislature's Government Administration and Elections Committee in Hartford, which would then schedule a public hearing on all transfers.

The state closed the roughly 100-acre former school campus more than four years ago, and split the property between two agencies.

It gave the land with the old school buildings to the state Department of Administrative Services, and more than 60 acres of undeveloped forested land and a stretch along the Mystic River to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Recently, a developer considered buying the property and turning it into a private school, but needed some additional land to build dormitories. When the developer learned that the land around the campus was tied up and could not be conveyed, he walked away, Scott said.

He said he doesn't want the property to become another massive cleanup or demolition project.

"What I'm worried about is we're going to wind up with another Norwich Hospital, and this puts Groton in partnership with the state to prevent something like that from happening," Scott said.

The Mystic land transfers do not include the Mystic Education Center buildings themselves; those and the land immediately around them would remain under the control of the state Department of Administrative Services.

The state is still running heat and air conditioning in the buildings so they remain in relatively good condition, Scott said.

Jonathan Reiner, director of planning for Groton, said acquiring the land would help from a development standpoint and provide better access to the water, which make it easier to market the property.

The town also could use the land for its own recreational needs, he wrote in a memo to Town Manager Mark Oefinger.

"This land could be used by the town for active or passive recreation, and/or portions could be combined with the developed area of the Mystic Education Center for future development," Reiner wrote. "This real estate asset can have significant positive impacts on the key reinvestment of the Mystic Education Center as well as serving some recreational needs of the town."

Groton recently agreed to partner with the state in searching for potential developers, and the state Department of Economic and Community Development is looking for money to help the town market the property.

Groton should hear back about the money soon, Reiner told the Town Council.

d.straszheim@theday.com

Twitter: @DStraszheim