Stonington — The Board of Selectmen is proposing that the town offer a tax abatement to the developer of the proposed $32 million apartment building with affordable units on the former Campbell Grain building site in downtown Pawcatuck.

On Wednesday, the selectwomen voted to send the request for fixed tax assessment, which would save Winn Development Co. LP of Boston a total of $600,000 in taxes over a 10-year period, to a virtual town meeting vote. No date has yet been set for the town meeting.

The town has offered similar fixed assessments in the past to persuade developers of large projects, such as Stone Ridge, Masonicare, the Thread Mill and most recently the Perkins Farm redevelopment, to proceed with their plans.

Meanwhile, the selectwomen also voted to send a letter with information about the fixed assessment and the upcoming town meeting vote to the state Department of Housing and Connecticut Housing Finance Authority to support Winn Development’s application to obtain state tax credits and bonding for the project. First Selectwoman Danielle Chesebrough said one of the key aspects of Winn Development’s attempt to obtain state funding is to show it has a local contribution of $1.6 million.

To do that, the selectwomen voted Tuesday to apply for $1 million from the state’s Small Cities Community Development Block Grant fund to help pay for the project’s infrastructure.

That leaves $600,000, which would come from Winn’s savings from the fixed rate assessment.

While the details of the assessment are still being worked out, Chesebrough said that in the first year, Winn Development would not pay any taxes on the building but then 10% of the assessment in the second year, 20% in the third year and increasing by 10 percentage points each year until the full assessment is reached. She pointed out that the fixed assessment plan would apply to only the building, as Winn Development would pay full taxes for the land, estimated at about $670,000 over 10 years.

Last month, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved a special permit for Winn Development to construct the 82-unit apartment building at the end of Coggswell Street. Plans call for a five-story, 116,000-square-foot building with parking under the building and on site, and a riverfront walkway with public access. The almost 2-acre site is bordered by the Amtrak line and has 240 feet of frontage along the Pawcatuck River.

A total of 70% of the units would be considered affordable housing under state law. Town officials say the project would help meet the need for housing for residents of all income levels and play a key role in the revitalization of downtown Pawcatuck.

During Wednesday’s selectwomen’s meeting, Winn project director Matt Robayna outlined his 50-year-old firm's extensive construction, management and maintenance of affordable, mixed-use and workforce housing projects across the Northeast.

He said Winn does not build projects and then sell them.

“When we come into your community we want to be part of your community,” he said.

j.wojtas@theday.com