A two-year demolition and clean-up of the former WestPoint Stevens Mill boiler house at Biddeford’s Pepperell Mill Campus has been completed, and the developer said this week it’s now considering uses for the historic space.
Pepperell Mill partnered with Marble Block Redevelopment Corp. for the work at 2 Main St. Costs for the project totaled $636,470.
Project planning started in 2019 and was completed earlier this year, transforming the building into an empty shell ready for redevelopment.
Envirovantage, a demolition contractor, was contracted to perform the work. It included demolition, dismantling and off-site disposal of six multi-story boilers; abatement of asbestos-containing materials associated with the boilers and in other areas of the building, in accordance with applicable local and state regulations. The work included removal and disposal of ash and coal from the former boilers.
The project was funded in part through a federal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Cleanup Grant.
An early-20th-century brick smoke stack that’s part of the boiler house, also known as Building 37, underwent an extensive restoration last year.
The chimney restoration cost $115,000.
Building 37, situated on the banks of the Saco River, was built in 1916. The plant created steam to power machinery throughout the mill, make electricity and provide heat. The steam was used throughout the Biddeford & Saco Mill Districts and also powered some homes and buildings on the downtown grid.
The steam plant drew water from the Saco River and heated it with a large coal boiler. In 1936, the plant was switched over to an oil-fired boiler to replace the antiquated and dirty coal boiler. Decades later it was switched over to natural gas, which was more cost-effective. The steam plant was shut down in 2009 when WestPoint Stevens closed.
Overall, the former Pepperell Manufacturing Co. mill complex covers 17 acres in downtown Biddeford and includes 16 buildings with more than 1 million square feet of space, which is methodically being developed into commercial, residential and industrial uses by developer Doug Sanford.
Developer Doug Sanford started buying and fixing up buildings in Biddeford in the early 1980s, and bought Pepperell in two stages.
