New London — The city has issued a call for bids on the demolition and environmental cleanup of the residential high-rises on Crystal Avenue that have been vacant since the summer of 2018.

Requests for proposals for the project are being accepted through March 9, and city officials hope to have the buildings razed by spring, with the majority of the costs being shouldered by the state.

The site is the former home of Thames River Apartments, a 124-unit federally subsidized housing complex for low-income families. For years it was the source of complaints from residents over deferred maintenance and deteriorating conditions. A joint effort by the city and New London Housing Authority, prompted by a long-running class-action lawsuit, led to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approval to move residents to private properties with Section 8 housing vouchers.

The last residents moved out in 2018. The city later bought the property for $185,000 and rezoned the 12-acre site to commercial and industrial with the idea of turning a tax-exempt property into a tax generator.

New London Mayor Michael Passero said the apartment complex, tucked in an industrial area in the shadow of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge, should never have been built and was a black eye for the city. Now that residents are moved out, the property represents an asset to the city "and a great opportunity for expanding the grand list,” he said.

“Our intention is to begin marketing the property very shortly," Passero said.

Early discussion about uses for the property had included a connection to the multimillion-dollar reconstruction of nearby State Pier by the state and offshore wind industry. The Connecticut Port Authority, which oversees the State Pier property, had briefly been in discussions with the city about uses of the Crystal Avenue site. However, those talks never led to any commitments.

The state pledged $2 million toward the demolition project during discussion of the state's investment at State Pier. In his announcement about the funding in 2018, Gov. Ned Lamont said, “New London and the state are collaborating to usher in a new era of growth and prosperity as the addition of the offshore wind industry to the city’s economic base propels the city to new prominence."

New London has since soured on the plans for State Pier because of what Passero repeatedly has said is a lack of fair compensation as host city.

Peter Davis, executive director of the Renaissance City Development Association, said once the city has chosen a firm for the demolition work, it will go to the state for approval of the process. The $2 million contributed by the state is administered by the state Department of Economic and Community Development from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Urban Site Remedial Action Program. The program facilitates cleanup, reuse and redevelopment of polluted commercial and industrial properties.

Consulting firm Tighe & Bond performed a detailed environmental assessment of the property last year and, as expected, turned up pollutants in the buildings that included asbestos, PCBs and lead. Davis said the levels were below the threshold that warranted federal Environmental Protection Agency oversight.

Tighe & Bond additionally was hired to develop the remediation and development plan for the bid packages. The city has spent a total of $113,000 in state money with the firm, Davis said.

While the final cost will remain an unknown until bids come in, city officials are hoping to not only cover costs of removing hazardous materials and demolishing the buildings but making the property as close to development ready as possible.

Interested bidders are expected to gather for a visit to the property Feb. 16.

g.smith@theday.com