New London ― No plans have been formally submitted, but conceptual drawings first unveiled to the public last week show the developers of a block on Eugene O’Neill Drive that includes The Day building and the former Citizens Bank are envisioning the site for a new 120-room hotel and restaurant along with apartments and retail.

The drawings, shown off at the bank building Oct. 26 after a Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut event, featured a gathering space on the main floor of the marble-faced space that could be a restaurant, cafe and/or bar, said Dash Davidson, one of the principals of High Tide Capital LLC of Bangor, Maine.

He added that it is too early in the process to say whether the hotel will be a branded property and emphasized that this is the very earliest stage of planning that will likely result in changes to the plan as the developers consult with city planners and historic-preservation groups like the National Park Service, which will be a key to obtaining tax credits.

“We feel New London could use a great downtown hotel,” Davidson said in a phone interview Wednesday. “I’m very excited about that vision. ... We want to see tourism downtown.”

Davidson added that he and partner Max Patinkin are aware of several successful bank conversions into hotels in cities like Providence and St. Louis.

“That’s something we can learn from and replicate,” he said. “We believe the market could support this project.”

Mayor Michael Passero said Tuesday in a phone interview that he and Director of Development and Planning Felix Reyes have seen the conceptual drawings, though no formal plans have been submitted to City Hall.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Passero said. “It’s sort of like you have to pinch yourself to believe it’s real.”

High Tide Capital in September bought the former Citizens Bank at 63 Eugene O’Neill Drive and an adjoining property for $1.75 million and has an agreement to acquire The Day property at 47 Eugene O’Neill Drive for $1.875 million that has not yet been finalized.

High Tide Capital is the same development company that has been restoring three buildings on Bank Street as part of the so-called Riverbank project. It also completed a project last year at the Manwaring building on State Street that now serves as overflow dorm space for Connecticut College.

Davidson said he expects to have formal plans ready to submit to the city in a couple of months. He added that the hotel part of the project would be largely contained within the old bank building, along with the restaurant. That would leave an unknown number of apartments and retail spaces to be contained largely in The Day building, which the drawings show would be opened up to allow a freer flow of pedestrian traffic from Eugene O’Neill Drive to Atlantic Street in back of the property.

“We’re starting now with the whole outreach phase of the project,” Davidson said, adding that reaction to the conceptual plans last week was very positive.

“People are eager to get these buildings into the next phase of life,” he said.

Davidson didn’t yet have specifics on the project, other than to say The Day building and the bank building would be connected. He couldn’t yet say whether the restaurant would be upscale, or what the mix of apartments would be between market-rate and workforce housing. He added that the restaurant would have to support the hotel and be available throughout the day.

“We’re in the very early days,” he said, “trying to see what works, what we can afford.”

Passero said the company’s track record so far has been outstanding as it has developed several challenging sites in the city and appears to be on the cusp of starting its most ambitious project yet.

“High Tide Capital has been a real boon to the city,” Passero said. “What a great vision.”

l.howard@theday.com