Preston — Until now, residents and passersby hadn't seen much progress in the cleanup of the former Norwich Hospital property on Route 12, even though more than $1 million has been spent on the project.

That changed on Thursday when cranes operated by Manafort Bros. crews began demolishing four buildings in plain view of the Route 12 traffic.

Town officials Thursday marked the start of the second phase of the cleanup, using the first $1 million in state grant funds approved last fall for the project. The Urban Act money will demolish the Salmon and Awl buildings, the chapel and the theater.

Preston Redevelopment Agency Chairman Sean Nugent has invited the public to park at a small turnoff across Route 12 from the chapel and to stand at the security fence to watch the demolition over the next few weeks.

Town and state officials expressed both sadness and joy as they watched skilled crane operators Ricky Wolf and Remi Bauerle take apart the Salmon Building. Wolf used his crane's giant claws to send large chunks of brick, slate roof shingles and wooden framework crashing to the ground.

Bauerle used a twin pair of claws to sort delicately through the rubble, placing valuable salvageable metal and decorative stone features in separate piles. Manafort Project Manager Michele Lester said the bricks already have been sold. While these roof slates could not be removed safely, slate on other former hospital campus roofs will be saved, along with chestnut wood door frames and oak window frames.

These buildings are some of the most ornate on campus, with steeply peaked roofs, decorative features, slate shingles and tall, arched windows and door frames.

"It's sad to see this incredible architecture come down," First Selectman Robert Congdon said, "but there really is no choice."

Engineers determined nearly all the buildings on the 390-acre campus have decayed or collapsed to the point where they could not be saved.

After the $1 million Urban Act grant is exhausted, the town will use a $500,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant to demolish the theater warehouse and a network of tunnels around the building. A $500,000 state brownfields grant and $125,000 town matching funds will assess buildings for future demolition, said PRA member Jim Bell.

The PRA already used nearly $1 million in federal grants to demolish several buildings on both sides of Route 12.

The town is awaiting word on four new federal grant applications. If obtained and combined with a recently approved $4 million state low-interest loan — which requires an equal town match — the PRA would have enough money to clean and demolish nearly all the buildings on the campus, officials said.

At the same time, PRA officials continue to negotiate with Stamford-based JHM Financial LLC on the company's development proposal for the hospital property. Nugent said he hopes to have negotiations completed by the end of April and be able to discuss the plans publicly for the first time.

State officials also are in negotiations with an unidentified buyer for the 49.65-acre Norwich portion of the former property. Officials at the state Department of Administrative Services told Norwich officials that the purchase price is $300,000 but would not identify the potential buyer or buyers.

Nugent said Preston officials are interested in the progress of those talks as well and would like to meet with the developer if the deal is closed.

"We'd be happy to meet with that developer and see if there's anything we can do with them," he said.

c.bessette@theday.com