Image courtesy of Ideanomics

In a sign West Hartford leaders worry a planned “fintech village” on the site of a former UConn satellite campus may never materialize, town councilors approved a right of first refusal agreement on Tuesday with the property’s developer Ideanomics.

Last July, Ideanomics unveiled plans to build a $283 million campus for itself and other companies in sectors such as robotics, clean tech, insurance and financial services. Ideanomics bought the property from the town for $5.2 million in 2018 and the state pledged $10 million to help fund the redevelopment if jobs goals were met.

The company started demolition on the 58-acre site and removal of environmental contaminants last summer, but in March announced it needed a development partner for the project to continue. It also declared the property to be a “non-core asset” that it might divest itself of as it faced financial troubles. Since then, as the Hartford Business Journal reported, Ideanomics’ financial fortunes have improved but the company appears to be shifting its interest towards other sectors.

Ideanomics is required to give the town the right to purchase the property if it receives an offer to purchase or lease more than a 50 percent stake in the site before Dec. 31.

In its resolution approving the deal, the West Hartford Town Council expressed interest in developing the site itself.