PUTNAM — A long-troubled project to convert a former Putnam mill to upscale rental and commercial space is quietly getting back on track with the search for a new general contractor.

The beleaguered Lofts at Cargill Falls Mill renovation effort has advanced haltingly since it first began in 2013.

The unsolved shooting death of owner Greg Renshaw, whose body was found on the property in August 2016, understandably derailed the multi-million dollar renovation for a period of time.

Renshaw’s wife and business partner Leeann Parker is now the principal on the project.

Seymour-based Haynes Construction has put out invitations to bid to sub-contractors and held a pre-bid meeting and site walk of the former Hale Manufacturing Building at 52-58 Pomfret St. earlier this month.

Putnam Town Administrator Mary Calorio said that the developers of the mill have recently been in contact with her office, submitting partial design and building plans several times.

“Our hope is that they’ll be able to get moving forward on the project, hire a (general contractor), and they’re able to actually start the project,” said Calorio.

“It’s a cornerstone property for the town at our gateway,” she said. “The town would love to see them be successful.”

Formerly the Hale Manufacturing property, plans call for 82 residential rental units above commercial storefronts. The upscale waterfront facility will also house a rental office, fitness center, ground floor lobby and retail space, with off-street lot parking.

Local real estate experts say that Putnam’s housing market has finally begun to rebound in earnest since the housing crash that accompanied the Great Recession in 2008.

Longtime realtor Dick Loomis said first time home buyers have been taking advantage of programs designed to get people into properties with little to no money down and a stabilized economy, strengthening the “move up" market for those looking to sell the starter home.

Additionally, he said, the Massachusetts market — along with Rhode Island’s to a degree — has become so strong that the overflow is spilling into northeastern Connecticut towns, such as Putnam and Thompson, where the market for condos and housing developments is “spectacular.”

While people are buying and selling homes in the region, Loomis said that apartment rentals don’t always follow the same trends.

“It’s going to take some time to absorb (the addition of vacant units on the market),” he said. “As a landlord, is that going to hurt us a little bit? Yes. But I do know that there is a shortage on apartments right now, so there probably is a time for it.”

Loomis did express optimism that the commercial aspect of the project might help bridge Putnam’s north end, with its quaint collection of store fronts, to the beating heart of its downtown.

“Walking across the bridge — it’s beautiful, it’s accessible,” said Loomis. “When I have somebody who comes into town and they want to do a brewery or a music venue, they all want to be downtown.”