August 2, 2004
Filling the mill | Paper is out, but Brewer officials weigh new uses for the former Eastern Fine mill
By Taylor Smith
Drew Sachs, director of economic development for the city of Brewer, spent months earlier this year trying to locate a buyer for the former Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill on the city's waterfront. He also worked with an informal group organized by Gov. John Baldacci, which courted dozens of potential buyers ˆ from corporations to individual investors ˆ for the site. But early last month, it became clear to Sachs and other officials involved in the search that the prospect of finding one tenant to take over operations in the 405,000-square-foot mill was, at best, a long shot.
So Sachs began looking at alternatives for redeveloping the mill building and the 41-acre parcel of land that winds along the banks of the Penobscot river. The building's oddly shaped additions and rambling corridors made it a tough sell to a single user. But those same attributes, says Sachs, make the mill an attractive candidate for mixed-use redevelopment. Though the plans still are in their infancy, Sachs envisions sections of the mill being parceled out for light manufacturing, office space and retail shops, as well as space for artists and performers. "We didn't want to limit ourselves to paper anymore," he says. "We did that for nine months and it turned up nothing. Let's find something that will have lasting economic benefits and [that's] not a flash in the pan."
As the basis of the proposed project, Sachs points to successful mixed-use redevelopment of industrial sites ˆ most notably the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Va., which manufactured torpedoes during the two world wars and in the mid-70s was renovated into roughly 150 galleries and workspaces for artists. Mixed-use redevelopment also has been attempted in Maine as a way to salvage the hulking remnants of the state's manufacturing sector. Redevelopment at the sprawling, 11-building Bates Mill Complex in Lewiston began in the 1990s, and has drawn attention for its potential as a revitalizing force in the local economy. But despite the attention, Lewiston officials still have had to contend with low occupancy rates at the mill complex.
In Brewer, redevelopment of the mill ˆ which was given to the city by South Norwalk, Conn.-based First Paper Holding, which bought Eastern Fine's assets in bankruptcy court in late May ˆ also dovetails with the city's Penobscot Landing redevelopment project. The 10-year project, which began in 2000 and is expected to cost $35 million-$57 million, will encompass a large chunk of Brewer's waterfront with commercial shopping areas, walking paths, restaurants, a public pier, gardens and a marina. "When we originally worked on the Penobscot Landing project, the mill wasn't an issue," says Sachs. "We assumed the mill would remain a mill. But now we have an entirely new asset that we can build into the plan."
Though Sachs is optimistic that redevelopment of the mill is possible, the city must deal with a host of issues ˆ including an aging physical plant and potential environmental hazards ˆ before any concrete plans for the facility can be made. But deal with those issues they must, since the city took a significant financial hit when Eastern Fine folded.
In addition to the 240 jobs lost when the mill closed, Eastern Fine racked up loads of debt since declaring bankruptcy in 2000, including roughly $600,000 in past due water and sewer payments to the city that Sachs doesn't expect to be able to recoup. Brewer City Manager Steve Bost estimates that Eastern Fine, the city's second largest taxpayer, filled Brewer's coffers with roughly $500,000 in annual tax revenues ˆ money the city needs to replace. "We're interested in that becoming a viable facility as soon as possible," says Bost.
Heavy cleaning
Before viability, though, there are those obstacles: The mill's history as a heavy manufacturing facility has left a significant amount of cleanup work, site evaluation and building maintenance that needs to be completed before town officials know what redevelopment plans are feasible.
When Eastern Fine vacated the mill in January, it left behind thousands of gallons of chemicals ˆ including heavy-duty industrial solvents, acids and bases ˆ that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have spent more than half a million dollars to remove or dispose of. David Sait, director of recovery services for Maine DEP, moved personnel into both the Lincoln and Brewer mills when Eastern ceased operations there.
His first move in Brewer was to ensure that the mill's heat stayed on during the winter so the vats of chemicals wouldn't freeze, which potentially would have lead to leaks and contamination throughout the mill. What's more, frozen chemicals would be rendered unusable. Both Sait and Gary Lipson, the EPA's onsite coordinator, say many of the leftover chemicals were in good condition, which allowed Lipson ˆ whose group is in charge of getting the chemicals off-site ˆ to cheaply offload the bulk of the chemicals to manufacturing companies, rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars for disposal.
Including heating costs ˆ the mill's single boiler ran through roughly 6,000 gallons of oil a day, according to Sait ˆ Maine DEP has spent nearly $375,000 on cleanup and expects to spend another $65,000 removing oil from the site. Once Sait's crew finishes its work, the DEP will send in another group to do site investigation and remediation, bringing the mill one step closer to redevelopment. "They'll be working with Brewer to help them figure out what they want to do with the facility," says Sait.
Sachs can't estimate how much the final redevelopment project will cost, but says he hopes to raise much of the funding through state agencies such as the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Department of Transportation, as well as federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also plans to approach state and federal legislators for financial help, and hopes to leverage private money by, for example, offering subsidized or free rent to a company that agrees to outfit the building with new HVAC equipment.
But along with environmental issues at the mill, Sachs also has to deal with some structural sections at the mill that date back to the 1870s. Sachs, Sait and Lipson all point out that the mill is in relatively good condition for a facility that's been the site of heavy manufacturing for more than a century, but Sachs says there's a "tremendous amount" of maintenance work that needs to be taken care of, from repairing leaky roofs to replacing structural steel supporting the mill's floor.
He expects to have to tear down some of the less structurally sound parts of the mill, but wants to keep as much of the original structure as he can ˆ as long as it's financially feasible. "The city of Brewer exists largely because of that mill, and there's a lot of history there," he says. "It would be a wonderful thing to reuse that facility and keep a part of that history alive, but the [financial] numbers will help us figure out what to do. The numbers don't lie."
So Sachs began looking at alternatives for redeveloping the mill building and the 41-acre parcel of land that winds along the banks of the Penobscot river. The building's oddly shaped additions and rambling corridors made it a tough sell to a single user. But those same attributes, says Sachs, make the mill an attractive candidate for mixed-use redevelopment. Though the plans still are in their infancy, Sachs envisions sections of the mill being parceled out for light manufacturing, office space and retail shops, as well as space for artists and performers. "We didn't want to limit ourselves to paper anymore," he says. "We did that for nine months and it turned up nothing. Let's find something that will have lasting economic benefits and [that's] not a flash in the pan."
As the basis of the proposed project, Sachs points to successful mixed-use redevelopment of industrial sites ˆ most notably the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Va., which manufactured torpedoes during the two world wars and in the mid-70s was renovated into roughly 150 galleries and workspaces for artists. Mixed-use redevelopment also has been attempted in Maine as a way to salvage the hulking remnants of the state's manufacturing sector. Redevelopment at the sprawling, 11-building Bates Mill Complex in Lewiston began in the 1990s, and has drawn attention for its potential as a revitalizing force in the local economy. But despite the attention, Lewiston officials still have had to contend with low occupancy rates at the mill complex.
In Brewer, redevelopment of the mill ˆ which was given to the city by South Norwalk, Conn.-based First Paper Holding, which bought Eastern Fine's assets in bankruptcy court in late May ˆ also dovetails with the city's Penobscot Landing redevelopment project. The 10-year project, which began in 2000 and is expected to cost $35 million-$57 million, will encompass a large chunk of Brewer's waterfront with commercial shopping areas, walking paths, restaurants, a public pier, gardens and a marina. "When we originally worked on the Penobscot Landing project, the mill wasn't an issue," says Sachs. "We assumed the mill would remain a mill. But now we have an entirely new asset that we can build into the plan."
Though Sachs is optimistic that redevelopment of the mill is possible, the city must deal with a host of issues ˆ including an aging physical plant and potential environmental hazards ˆ before any concrete plans for the facility can be made. But deal with those issues they must, since the city took a significant financial hit when Eastern Fine folded.
In addition to the 240 jobs lost when the mill closed, Eastern Fine racked up loads of debt since declaring bankruptcy in 2000, including roughly $600,000 in past due water and sewer payments to the city that Sachs doesn't expect to be able to recoup. Brewer City Manager Steve Bost estimates that Eastern Fine, the city's second largest taxpayer, filled Brewer's coffers with roughly $500,000 in annual tax revenues ˆ money the city needs to replace. "We're interested in that becoming a viable facility as soon as possible," says Bost.
Heavy cleaning
Before viability, though, there are those obstacles: The mill's history as a heavy manufacturing facility has left a significant amount of cleanup work, site evaluation and building maintenance that needs to be completed before town officials know what redevelopment plans are feasible.
When Eastern Fine vacated the mill in January, it left behind thousands of gallons of chemicals ˆ including heavy-duty industrial solvents, acids and bases ˆ that the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have spent more than half a million dollars to remove or dispose of. David Sait, director of recovery services for Maine DEP, moved personnel into both the Lincoln and Brewer mills when Eastern ceased operations there.
His first move in Brewer was to ensure that the mill's heat stayed on during the winter so the vats of chemicals wouldn't freeze, which potentially would have lead to leaks and contamination throughout the mill. What's more, frozen chemicals would be rendered unusable. Both Sait and Gary Lipson, the EPA's onsite coordinator, say many of the leftover chemicals were in good condition, which allowed Lipson ˆ whose group is in charge of getting the chemicals off-site ˆ to cheaply offload the bulk of the chemicals to manufacturing companies, rather than spending tens of thousands of dollars for disposal.
Including heating costs ˆ the mill's single boiler ran through roughly 6,000 gallons of oil a day, according to Sait ˆ Maine DEP has spent nearly $375,000 on cleanup and expects to spend another $65,000 removing oil from the site. Once Sait's crew finishes its work, the DEP will send in another group to do site investigation and remediation, bringing the mill one step closer to redevelopment. "They'll be working with Brewer to help them figure out what they want to do with the facility," says Sait.
Sachs can't estimate how much the final redevelopment project will cost, but says he hopes to raise much of the funding through state agencies such as the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Department of Transportation, as well as federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He also plans to approach state and federal legislators for financial help, and hopes to leverage private money by, for example, offering subsidized or free rent to a company that agrees to outfit the building with new HVAC equipment.
But along with environmental issues at the mill, Sachs also has to deal with some structural sections at the mill that date back to the 1870s. Sachs, Sait and Lipson all point out that the mill is in relatively good condition for a facility that's been the site of heavy manufacturing for more than a century, but Sachs says there's a "tremendous amount" of maintenance work that needs to be taken care of, from repairing leaky roofs to replacing structural steel supporting the mill's floor.
He expects to have to tear down some of the less structurally sound parts of the mill, but wants to keep as much of the original structure as he can ˆ as long as it's financially feasible. "The city of Brewer exists largely because of that mill, and there's a lot of history there," he says. "It would be a wonderful thing to reuse that facility and keep a part of that history alive, but the [financial] numbers will help us figure out what to do. The numbers don't lie."
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