The City Council voted to authorize the release of a request for proposals to four finalists selected by the city as potential partners to redevelop the former Sherburne School property into below-market-rate housing.

The council voted unanimously to allow City Manager Karen Conard to draft and release the RFP, which will seek two redevelopment proposals from each finalist, one that keeps the former elementary school building in place, and a second plan calling for its removal.

The four finalists, chosen from a field of eight, are Avesta Housing of Portland, Maine, Pennrose of Boston, Portsmouth Housing Authority and Preservation of Affordable Housing of Boston, according to Conard.