Preston residents will get the opportunity this coming weekend to tour the former Norwich Hospital campus they approved acquiring from the state three months ago. We fear some might wish they took a better look before voting to OK the purchase.

Residents will see firsthand how much work is needed before the nearly 400-acre campus can be developed by anyone. The state was grossly negligent in the way it handled the closing of the property more than a decade ago. It did very little to mothball the buildings and utilities. It did not abate the pollution at all.

The poor state of the property is one big reason the efforts to find credible developers to develop it have failed. And it is the reason we thought it a bad idea to take the problem off the state's hands by buying it for $1.

But the majority of Preston voters wanted the town to be in control of the property's destiny, and so it is. It makes sense, then, for the Preston Redevelopment Agency to provide all town residents the opportunity to take a look.

While the property has loads of problems, it also has potential. We wish Preston success in realizing that potential.

The Saturday tour begins at 10 a.m., the Sunday tour at 1 p.m. Preregistration is required by calling the first selectman's office, 887-5581, ext. 1. Buses leave from the Preston Plains Middle School.