Norwich - The downtown Chestnut Street neighborhood could get a new look next year if the City Council approves a plan to tear down the blighted two-building mill complex at 77 Chestnut St.

The city received six bids ranging from $249,711 to $834,800 to clean and demolish the two buildings the city took for back taxes two years ago. Not only are the brick and concrete buildings partially collapsed, but the grounds surrounding them are overgrown with weeds and trees. Litter and other debris are strewn throughout the property as well.

The bid advertisement called for removal of hazardous materials, demolition of the buildings, removal of debris to a "proper" off-site disposal site and filling in the foundation to "restore to visually appealing condition." The buildings have a combined size of about 40,000 square feet.

On Monday, the City Council scheduled a public hearing for Jan. 6 on an ordinance to bond up to $500,000 to demolish the buildings at 77 Chestnut St. and another small city-owned mill building at 26 Shipping St. off Route 32. The Commission on the City Plan, which by charter must issue a recommendation on bonding ordinances, canceled its meeting Tuesday night that included a discussion of the plan.

Mayor Deberey Hinchey said the Chestnut Street neighborhood is important to downtown, and the cleanup could become a focal point for neighborhood revitalization there. She said no decisions have been made on how to market the nearly three-quarter acre graded land that would remain after the demolition.

Hinchey said she would not want to simply auction off the land to the highest bidder, but instead would want economic development officials to come up with a plan for the neighborhood first.

"I'd like to see what it looks like when it's down," Hinchey said. "The city has to be careful. That's a prime piece of property, and the city has to put in a lot of thought into what we want to have there."

The low bidder for the demolition of 77 Chestnut St. was submitted by a neighbor in the block between Chestnut and Franklin streets, Wiese Construction Inc., at 282 Franklin St.

City Purchasing Agent William Block said Tuesday that he expects to advertise for demolition bids of 26 Shipping St. within the next week.

The city conducted a partial cleanup of the 15,287-square-foot building at 26 Shipping St. several years ago using a federal brownfields grant. At the time, it was anticipated the building could be marketed for reuse.

Redevelopment Agency Chairwoman Marge Blizard said Tuesday it appears the city's goal of seeing the Shipping Street former industrial district revitalized appears years away, and redevelopment of the small 1890 building by itself seemed doubtful.

"A fair amount of thought went into that decision," she said of the plan to tear it down. "It was not an easy decision. Part of the decision was because it's hard to use by itself."

c.bessette@theday.com