CLAREMONT — The state has offered to sell the vacant state office building at 17 Water Street to the city for $700,000, City Manager Yoshi Manale told the City Council Wednesday.

The offer would have to be approved by the governor and Executive Council before being presented to the City Council.

The four-story brick building, constructed in 1900, has a gross area of 32,000 square feet and is assessed at $1.4 million, according to the city’s assessing department.

The structure was originally part of the Monadnock Mills complex and sits right on the Sugar River in downtown. It was in disrepair when the city gave it to the state in 1980.

After the state completed renovations, it opened Department of Motor Vehicles and Department of Health and Human Services offices. The DMV office closed several years ago and DHHS left in the winter of 2023 after pipes froze and burst, causing significant flooding.

DHHS has since relocated to another space in Claremont and the building has remained vacant.

Manale said the city would complete an environmental assessment of the property before bringing the proposal to the council.