Preston – Negotiations will kick off next week between officials from the Mohegan tribe and the town of Preston that should lead to a proposed purchase and sale agreement for the 393-acre former Norwich Hospital property.

The Preston Redevelopment Agency has spent much of the past six years immersed in tedious details of grant writing, environmental assessment and cleanup, more grant writing and working with economic development planners. Now, the agency suddenly faces a six-month mission to write and win voter approval of a development agreement with the Mohegan tribe that could bring $200 million to $600 million development to the property now called Preston Riverwalk.

PRA Chairman Sean Nugent said the first negotiation meeting will be held Wednesday in Hartford with First Selectman Robert Congdon, tribal leaders, attorneys for both parties and perhaps officials from the state of Connecticut participating.

The memorandum of understanding approved last week by voters at a town meeting gives the parties 180 days to come back for another town meeting to approve a purchase and sale agreement and a more detailed “Property Disposition and Development Agreement.” That approval would start the clock on a one-year period for the town to complete any remaining environmental cleanup on the property.

With those tasks now in front of the PRA, Nugent suggested forming three subgroups to work on distinct tasks, one for handling the negotiations, a master planning committee overseeing the proposed design of the development and a third committee to work on the environmental cleanup.

The PRA already has a negotiations committee that worked extra hours in recent weeks to iron out the terms in the MOU, and also has members in charge of grants, Jim Bell, and daily cleanup operations, Ron Harris. Nugent suggested keeping those duties intact and perhaps doubling some of their tasks.

The state Department of Economic and Community Development has pledged $10 million in state bond funds to complete the environmental cleanup once the purchase and sale agreement is approved.

But Bell brought the PRA its first bit of bad news associated with the cleanup Wednesday. The agency recently learned it was rejected on all three of its pending applications for federal Environmental Protection Agency assessment grants that officials had hoped to use to prepare for the final cleanup phase. Bell said the rejection came prior to the announcement of the pending deal with the Mohegan tribe.

“Part of the reason is the developer wasn't on board yet,” Bell said of the rejection. And, he added, the town had hoped to “bundle” the EPA grant money with other pending applications, but didn't have that money in hand. The PRA will apply again in fall for the EPA assessment grants with both a developer and a stronger pledge of additional grant money on the table.

Also just prior to the development announcement, the PRA had been negotiating with the Yale Urban Design Workshop to write a master development plan for the Preston Riverwalk marketing effort. Now, Nugent said, the Yale group will serve as a consultant on the proposed master plan that the Mohegan tribe will propose.

Nugent said he talked with officials from the Yale Urban Design Workshop Wednesday to affirm the consulting agreement. Nugent will meet with the Yale group next Thursday.

Agency members took some time at Wednesday's meeting to reflect on the successes of last week. Nugent flipped through a pile of congratulatory emails and messages he had received over the past several days from state, regional and municipal leaders, as well as from consultants past and present who have worked with the PRA.

Congdon and Nugent both said they still are surprised that the town meeting approval went so quickly. Discussion and questions were cut off abruptly when a resident “moved the question” to a vote. Congdon said he has heard from several residents who said they wanted to ask more questions.

He suggested “spreading the word” among residents prior to the next town meeting in six months to approve the purchase and sale agreement that time be allowed for residents to ask questions before calling for a vote.

c.bessette@theday.com