New London – A Pennsylvania-based company has proposed a $12.5 million mixed-use development on long-vacant property at the corner of Bank and Howard streets.

A.R. Building Co., which is constructing a $14 million 104-unit apartment complex on Mansfield Road, has pitched the idea of a four-story, 90-unit complex with market-rate apartments and 9,450 square feet of retail space on property known locally as Parcel J.

Mayor Michael Passero said he was “ecstatic” upon hearing news of the proposal, which will be presented to the City Council at its meeting Monday.

Passero said the proposal is evidence of success for the city’s new partnership with the Renaissance City Development Association. The RCDA solicited and vetted the proposals for Parcel J, recommending A.R. Building to the Office of Development and Planning.

“It’s working the way it’s supposed to be working,” Passero said of the partnership. “The (RCDA) is working to facilitate the city’s vision of development in New London.”

The council will be asked Monday to approve A.R. Building Co. as the prime developer for the 3.23-acre property that has sat vacant since the now defunct New London Redevelopment Agency bought the land in the 1970s as part of the Shaw’s Cove portion of a citywide urban renewal project. It is the last major piece of undeveloped property there.

Conceptual plans for the development show a mix of efficiencies, 1- and 2-bedroom apartments, a rooftop deck for residents and a plaza at the corner of Bank Street with a mix of decorative landscaping and benches. A.R. Building intends to build, own and manage the property with its Westerly-based construction division handling the build.

A timeline for the project is unclear, but A.R. Building, in its proposal, states construction could begin as soon as approvals are in place.

Council approval on Monday would allow the RCDA to assist the Office of Development and Planning in negotiating a development agreement and sale price for the property, which has an appraised value of $650,000. A.R. wrote in its proposal that it is seeking no city funds for the project and intends to secure a construction loan and later a conventional mortgage once construction is completed.

The council will have to approve the development agreement before A.R. can take its plans to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Parcel J has been the focus of several proposals through the years. The city named Mystic-based Klewin Development preferred developer in 2013. Klewin had at one time proposed a $13 million mixed-use project that had tentatively included Fiddleheads Natural Food Co-op and more than 40 apartments. A development agreement was never finalized. Klewin was at the time partnered with A.R. Building Co. but cited a soured relationship stemming from a federal breach of contract lawsuit filed by Klewin against A.R. Building related to a development in Rhode Island.

A.R. Building had also at one time proposed, but later withdrew, an $18 million residential development at Fort Trumbull.

The RCDA remains under contract with the city to provide services that include vetting proposals and marketing city-owned properties such as Parcel J, the Richard R. Martin Center at 120 Broad St. and the Little Red Schoolhouse at 96 Hawthorne Drive.

Passero signed an agreement with the RCDA in February, giving the RCDA $100,000 to aid in hiring executive director Peter Davis to help the RCDA expand its role beyond Fort Trumbull development and work with the Office of Planning and Development in other areas.

g.smith@theday.com