Preston - Wednesday's plan by town officials to show Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman the progress to date at the former Norwich Hospital property and renew the town's request for additional cleanup got a surprise boost when project leaders also received approval to tear down one of the more troublesome contaminated buildings.

Sean Nugent, chairman of the Preston Redevelopment Agency, said the start of demolition of the Abraham Ribicoff Research Center building at the southern end of the sprawling former mental hospital campus was a welcomed coincidence with Wyman's visit.

State Rep. and Selectman Timothy Bowles invited Wyman to visit Preston to discuss the town's two pending state grant requests, a $5 million Urban Act grant and a $3 million bond grant request, to continue the hospital cleanup.

In addition to a bus tour of the main portion of the former state hospital, Wyman heard a presentation by PRA and other town officials on the demolition progress, grants and loans received, and most importantly, the new grant requests.

To date, Preston has used a combination of $5.5 million in state, federal and local funds, including $1.2 million in scrap salvage revenue, to demolish 37 of the 55 buildings on the 393-acre campus since the town took ownership of the property in 2009. The totals include the Ribicoff building, which had been slated to be the first building to come down before the discovery of PCB contamination delayed the plan and added to the cost.

The PRA and demolition contractor Manafort Bros. Inc. now estimates the total cost to complete the demolition at $18 million to $23 million, plus another potential $2 million to $8 million for testing and removal of potential PCB contamination in window frame caulking and surrounding brickwork.

With federal grant funds spent, the PRA is now working with a $2 million state loan and $2 million town matching bond to continue the demolition.

PRA member Jim Bell, who oversees funding, estimated the agency is spending at a rate of about $500,000 per month and could run out of current funding by April.

Continuity is key, said state Sen. Andrew Maynard, D-Stonington, whose district includes Preston, because it would keep Manafort Bros. crews working at the site. Currently, 45 full-time employees are on site working on the demolition. Manafort also owns the security fence that surrounds the main campus where demolition work is taking place.

"The property clearly has enormous potential," Wyman said later. "I am very impressed with the PRA's commitment to make it more marketable and I am looking into how the state may support their effort to turn it into an economic positive for the town and the entire region."

Shawn McMahon, executive vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle, the town's broker marketing the property, accompanied town officials and Wyman on the tour. McMahon said afterward that he has been contacted by potential developers and has given a few tours of the property but has no solid proposals yet to bring to the PRA.

c.bessette@theday.com