(KNSI) — The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has awarded the City of Sartell $50,000 for riverfront redevelopment at the old Verso Paper Mill site.
The city will get the money to fund a study for the 45.8 acre site to be redeveloped into a mix of residential and commercial buildings and a public amenity space. The project is anticipated to create 97 jobs and increase the local tax base by $647,021. The city of Sartell will provide matching funds.
DEED’s Contamination Cleanup and Investigation Grant Program awarded the funding, which will leverage more than $411 million in private investment. The Contamination Cleanup Grants cover up to 75% of the costs of investigating and cleaning polluted sites.
There was a deadly explosion at the paper mill in May of 2012. The mill was permanently closed in August of that year. AIM Development bought the site and the additional acreage from Verso in 2013 and demolished the buildings. It has been vacant ever since.
In August, the Sartell City Council approved an amended purchase agreement with AIM Development, including the former paper mill site. According to a press release from the city, the goal of the agreement was “to obtain control of the former Verso landfill on 4th Avenue South, which AIM Development, LLC proposed to reopen as an industrial landfill as confirmed with MPCA permit filings. Given the landfill’s location in the heart of Sartell and proximity to the Mississippi River, the city had been in litigation with AIM Development, LLC. since 2016 to prevent this from happening.”
The future of the Verso Paper Mill site is up in the air and depends on environmental reviews and development interests. Obtaining ownership is the first step in a multi-year redevelopment of a core property within the city.
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