Developers tour Eastern Fine mill
Saturday, March 25, 2006 

City leaders are being secretive about naming the developers who on Friday toured the defunct Eastern Fine Paper Co. mill site.

They did say, however, that five groups spent more than two hours meandering through the historic mill site.

"There certainly was a fair amount of enthusiasm," Richard Stoltz of Farmington, Conn., the economic development consultant representing Brewer's interests, said after the tour.

"Some had seen the mill before, others had not," he added later. "The faces that were seeing it for the first time were like 'holy cow,' in a good way."

The city, which received ownership of the defunct mill in May 2004 and got public input months later on development possibilities, is asking the potential developers to incorporate the community's wants in their plans.

The city selected a developer last year, but after his plans changed several times, Brewer officials decided it was in their best interest to hold a second round of development proposals, D'arcy Main-Boyington, the city's economic development director, said Friday.

Unlike the first round of proposals - where any idea was considered - the city has narrowed the scope for the new development to include retail shopping, high-end condos or apartments and a hotel.

"The position the city is in today with the mill and redevelopment process is really quite different" from a year ago, City Manager Steve Bost said Friday. "We've learned quite a lot since then."

Office space, public spaces, including recreation or performance areas, and more than one form of transportation to the site also are stressed in the development proposals, but none is required.

Even though the development proposals are the same, the city expects to see a variety of concepts.

The city is waiting with anticipation to see "what unique elements that they're going to put forth to stand out," Stoltz said of the developers.

A hazardous waste dump left behind on the 41-acre former industrial site and cleanup issues with the 400,000-square-foot mill were hot topics during Friday's tour, Main-Boyington said.

"There were a lot of questions about the environmental issues and with the equipment and materials [left] in the mill," she said.

The city has qualified for cleanup funds and other redevelopment money from the state and federal government.

A total of 11 people in five developer groups toured the mill with the city council, state Rep. Charles "Dusty" Fisher, D-Brewer, and Tanya Pereira, the city's new economic development specialist.

"The developers could see there was unanimous support [from the council], which is very, very important," Stoltz said. "The support for ideas is not typical for city councils throughout the country."

"That really speaks volumes," Main-Boyington said, adding that state and federal lawmakers also have shown and voiced support of the project.

Three of the five interested groups have Maine connections, but that is all the city was willing to release on Friday.

Minnesota-based developer Michael Stern, who at one time was the city's selected developer for the site, is expected to submit new plans, Main-Boyington said.

Along with the concepts, the development proposals, which are due April 21, also require a marketing plan, expected costs and anticipated deadline dates.

"A great plan is only a great plan if we can get it done," Main-Boyington said.