The former Adirondack Medical Center-Lake Placid, originally named Placid Memorial Hospital, is seen in August 2019. (Enterprise photo — Peter Crowley)

LAKE PLACID — The state Olympic Regional Development Authority is asking its board of directors for permission to spend about $23.1 million to demolish the former Placid Memorial Hospital, build an office building in its place and upgrade the Olympic & Paralympic Training Center ahead of the 2023 World University Games.

Local officials have talked about this project for years, but the first public indication that ORDA had concrete plans to move forward with it came last week when the authority released its agenda for its next board of directors meeting. Authority staff declined to share the full resolution the board would vote on until 72 hours before the board’s meeting.

The full resolution, released on Wednesday, shows that ORDA is planning to hire a contractor to first abate “hazardous materials” in the old hospital building on Church Street. Last year, the North Elba Town Council authorized a $5,600 payment to KAS — a company based in Plattsburgh and Williston, Vermont — to evaluate how much asbestos needs to be removed from the building before it could be demolished. The town owns the property.

After the hospital is demolished, ORDA plans to ask contractors to procure and build a steel frame for a new ORDA administration building, do site work and utility service installations, install a fire protection system, install piping for water and sewer service, install heating and air conditioning equipment, and set up electric service and conduit systems to power the building.

ORDA is also planning to ask a contractor to install new siding on the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center, which is owned by ORDA but operated by the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. The contractor would also be asked to install new walls and ceilings, windows and doors, plus upgrade ventilation systems and replace the fire protection system.

If approved by the ORDA Board of Directors, all of this work would be done by November 2022, ahead of the Winter World University Games in early 2023, according to ORDA documents. The U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center dorm will be Team USA’s headquarters and serve as an athlete’s village for the University Games.

ORDA’s board of directors are expected to vote on whether to authorize this project — and the anticipated $23.1 million price tag — this Friday at 1 p.m. Anyone can watch the meeting virtually by visiting https://youtu.be/A353zVWxKcc at the time of the meeting.