Future use of former New London school property hinges on inspection results

New London ― An environmental assessment team in the coming weeks will begin analyzing the former Harbor Elementary School property for hazardous materials, as the city takes the first step toward attracting a developer for the site.

The City Council on July 15 approved using $63,700 in federal COVID-19 American Rescue Plan Act monies for a Phase I environmental assessment of the 3-acre school property at 432 Montauk Ave. that includes a 104-year-old school building and two 1990-era annexes.

The school was shuttered in June 2023 after cracks were discovered on the main building’s second and third floors, prompting a two-day closure of the structure for inspections. The closing led to 270 Harbor students and 45 staff members being reassigned to new schools.

In addition to the main assessment work, GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc. is also tasked with carrying out targeted checks of the main building’s soil for lead, and recreation areas for the presence of pesticides and other contaminants.

A pre-demolition survey of the school will include checks for asbestos, lead, mercury and refrigerants.

“GZA understands that the City of New London is looking at future redevelopment of the property which might include retaining and repurposing the buildings or a compete demolition of the buildings to make way for a new development,” Felix Reyes, the city’s director of planning and economic development, said Thursday.

GZA’s inspection, expected to take several weeks to conduct, will guide how the city markets the property.

“Do we demolish it? Keep it? Those are all good questions we don’t have the answers for yet,” Reyes said. “It might turn out we need state and federal help in cleaning up the property and there might be more testing that needs to be done. This wouldn’t be your standard clean-up job. It could require a heavier investment than that’s typical.”

Reyes said his office began fielding calls from developers soon after the Board of Education in February voted to release the property back to the city.

“That property is located in a diverse, dynamic area near a hospital, single- and multi-family homes,” he said, adding GZA recently walked the site with city officials.

Despite the absence of students and staff, the school hasn’t been left idle. The city’s recreation department hosts frequent pickleball games in the old gym and the police department holds training exercises at the site.

The building will continue to serve as a voting location at least until after the November elections.

j.penney@theday.com