Waterford - Sold, for $8 million.

The state Department of Public Works announced Thursday it has an agreement to sell the former Seaside Regional Center to Farmington developer Mark S. Steiner, who first sought to purchase the 36-acre site 13 years ago.

"It's been a long and winding road, to quote the Beatles," Steiner said.

The final sale price is $900,000 more than the $7.1 million sum Steiner agreed to pay for the property in December 2006.

Steiner declined to comment on the negotiations or the jump in the state's asking price for the property. He told The Day in December he "would be willing to consider adjusting (the) purchase price offer" based on property assessments.

According to a press release, no purchase and sale agreement has been signed, though the public works department expects to close on the property by May 2011.

Steiner's attorney, Joseph Vitale, said the "negotiations are still ongoing and going well."

"Once the permitting process is complete, then we'll close," Steiner said.

Any agreement reached between the state public works department and Seaside in Waterford LLC, Steiner's company, needs the approval of the Office of Policy and Management Review Board, joint standing committees of the General Assembly that deal with the sale of state property and the state attorney general's office.

The town of Waterford must also receive formal notification of the sale of the land.

Steiner has plans to redevelop the property, a former sanitarium and facility for the developmentally disabled with splendid views of Long Island Sound and buildings by Beaux Arts architect Cass Gilbert.

He plans age-restricted condominiums. In 2003 the Zoning Commission unanimously voted to create a "Seaside Preservation Zoning District" that would allow Steiner's firm to develop the condominiums.

While Steiner said those zoning changes are still in effect, he declined to comment further on any development on site. He said a seawall on the site must be repaired, and he reaffirmed his commitment to public access to the waterfront.

He said he will also consider conducting another traffic study in the neighborhood after the closing.

Steiner first agreed in 2006 to purchase Seaside, which the state had closed down 10 years earlier.

In 2007 a legislative committee voted to oppose the sale, and Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced the state would retain the property, though Steiner maintained he had a contract to purchase it.

An investigation by The Day uncovered a series of e-mails showing that Rell's chief of staff, Lisa Moody, had suggested Seaside be preserved as a "legacy item" for the governor.

Rell announced in December 2009 that the property was again for sale, as part of an attempt to raise revenue.

Steiner objected to the state putting the property on the market, claiming again that he had a valid contract to buy it.

Steiner said Thursday he never initiated any litigation against the state.

According to a press release, Public Works Commissioner Raeanne V. Curtis appointed a five-member committee to conduct a review and interviews on proposals for the property.

Waterford First Selectman Daniel Steward said Thursday he is "pleased something is on the move."

s.chupaska@theday.com