EAST GREENWICH — The New England Institute of Technology has agreements to buy two of three large parcels of land it needs to create a 200-acre campus here, and it has secured an option to buy the third piece of property, college leaders told the Town Council Monday night.

Stressing that the college is still in the early planning stages and that the move is not yet a certainty, Suzanne Worrell Gemma, an assistant professor and liaison for college President Richard I. Gouse, said that it would be at least five years before it could become a reality.

The proposal — which would require the three land deals plus approval from the town — would give the college an expansive campus at Route 2 and Division Street.

Earlier this month, New England Tech, which operates at two locations in Warwick, confirmed it was looking to move to East Greenwich.

The land the school hopes to acquire is on the southeast corner of the intersection of Route 2 and Division Street, including most of the former Rocky Hill Fairgrounds, the East Greenwich Golf & Country Club, and land that is targeted for a 300-plus condominium complex called Wellington Woods.

The college’s prospective acquisition does not include the newly completed, and empty, building that was to have housed the corporate headquarters of the Brooks-Eckerd drugstore chain. That move was scratched last year when the chain was acquired by Rite Aid.

When asked by council members why the college didn’t include that property in its plans, Gouse said it was too expensive.

Gemma said that if the college builds an East Greenwich campus it will retain the recently built $10-million building on Access Road, just off Route 95, that houses its automotive center and some other programs.

She said the school would abandon its other location, at 2500 Post Rd., and have the new campus house all other academic and technical training facilities, the administration offices and recreational areas. Also, Gemma said, the college would have dormitories for the first time in its 67-year history.

Gouse told council members that giving New England Tech students a chance “to experience campus life” was one of the reasons the school is looking to make the move. “Our objective is to be able to offer them a really pleasant college experience,” Gouse said.

After the meeting, he said that the construction of a new campus will also make it possible for the school to expand its offerings and, ultimately, become a full engineering school along the lines of Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

A private, nonprofit technical school, the New England Institute of Technology has about 3,000 students and offers 8 bachelor’s degree programs and 22 associate degree programs.

Financing, design and cost estimates have not been worked out yet, Gemma said, but the college is hoping to work closely with the town in what she described as a “win, win, win situation.”

College officials will have some of their work cut out for them, with angry residents of the Taylor Point condominium development showing up last night to vehemently oppose the prospect of living next door to a college campus. The configuration of the parcels that New England Tech is eyeing would mean that the upscale 16-unit complex would be bordered on both sides by the campus.

“We’re going to be surrounded,” said resident Robert Minor. “We’re going to be smothered by this.”

Gouse said that he is willing to meet with the residents and stressed that the property is so large that there is ample room to provide buffer zones. He also said the school would like to build a pastoral campus that would provide green space in town as well as shared recreational facilities.

Since the college would not pay property taxes, Town Council President Michael B. Isaacs said that the finance director’s office is in the process of calculating how much revenue would be lost if the developments already proposed for the properties were built. That amount would have to be weighed against any payment-in-lieu-of-taxes that the town would be eligible for from the state, he said.

He also noted that in addition to Wellington Woods, a number of high-density uses had already been proposed or approved for the other parcels, including a hotel, a large condominium complex and a retail development. The college, while tax-exempt, might put a much lower demand on town services and the school system, he said.

Gouse said that the college has purchase-and-sale agreements for the 75-acre property that includes most of the former Rocky Hill Fairgrounds and for the 47-acre site for which Wellington Woods has been proposed. It has a purchase option for the roughly 74-acre golf course, where a condominium golf course community is being pursued.

Isaacs said there will be many more public meetings concerning New England Tech’s plans and he assured residents their concerns would be heard.

bpoliche@projo.com