Norwich - The city's hospital review committee, tasked with critiquing any proposals for the city's portion of the former Norwich Hospital property, met for the first time Monday night but didn't yet reveal any opinions on the parcel's only development proposal.

Instead, the committee briefly reviewed the timeline as laid out in the Request for Qualifications and Proposals, the document that spells out ground rules for the city and any potential developers.

Members agreed to meet again on May 12 and expect to discuss in some detail the only proposal Norwich has received, a $246 million conceptual plan for 450 units of residential housing, hotel and banquet center, laboratory research park and a culinary arts college.

The proposal divides the 61 acres into three development sites, two on the Thames River side of Route 12 and one large parcel on the inland side of Route 12.

The proposal was submitted by Renaissance Real Estate Group LLC, headed by Long Island developer Donald Monti, who has also shown interest in the city's downtown and in a proposed golf course and resort center in Occum. Neither of those ideas has advanced.

Most city councilors have already expressed concern with the housing component of Monti's plan, saying 450 units is too many, but Monti has said the proposal is a "concept plan" whose final plans, construction timelines and phasing are all subject to a proposed public/private partnership with the city.

Monti did not attend Monday's meeting.

Mayor Benjamin Lathrop said Monday that the committee will decide in May whether Monti's plan meets the specifications laid out in the RFP.

Unlike neighboring Preston, which struggled with whether to purchase its 419-acre portion of the hospital property, Norwich officials have already determined that the city should buy its 61 acres.

The Norwich portion is not contaminated to the extent that Preston's is, and city officials prefer to handle the property themselves rather than let control of it revert back to the state.

The review committee plans to interview Monti by the end of May as part of the "candidate interviews" portion of the timeline.

K.CROMPTON@THEDAY.COM