About 24,000 tonnes of contaminated soil must be removed from the site of a former military housing complex in Dartmouth, N.S., and the federal government wants it gone by spring, according to documents posted online Friday.

Shannon Park sat empty for more than a decade before it was demolished in 2017. Canada Lands Company plans to develop commercial and residential properties in the area.

The park has also been floated as a location for a new stadium.

Public Works and Government Services Canada posted a tender for the work, saying the company with the winning bid will be responsible for "the excavation, transport, and disposal of impacted soils and backfill."

The listed contaminants include hydrocarbons and arsenic.

Most of the contaminated soil sits within the red circle on this map. (CBC)

It says the work will cost up to $5 million and it wants it done by March 29, 2019. It's arranging a site visit for bidders on Thursday, Nov. 15.

The documents don't say where the contaminants come from and Public Works wasn't able to speak to CBC News about the project Friday.

A group called Maritime Football Limited Partnership wants to bring a CFL team to Halifax and said Shannon Park could be a good site for a new stadium.

Shannon Park and Dartmouth as seen from a helicopter this summer. (Carolyn Ray/CBC)

Shannon Park was built starting in 1949 and provided housing for military staff and their families. The Department of National Defence stopped using the site in 2003.

The Canada Land Company, a federal Crown corporation that handles real estate and development, acquired the 96.5-acre site in 2014.

With files from Brett Ruskin