ERVING — Activity around the defunct International Paper mill is expected to pick up in early 2021, when the town plans to seek proposals for redevelopment. Until then, the town is fine-tuning its vision for the site according to funding possibilities.
Preliminary work began this spring with removal of hazardous materials. Now, the town is pursuing a grant worth $490,000 from the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development to update the site’s sewer connections. Grant awards are expected to be announced by the end of November.
Simultaneously, the town is looking into a second grant that would allow it to demolish some of the buildings at the site. Whether the project is eligible for that grant will determine how the town pitches the site to developers next spring, according to Erving Planning Assistant Mariah Kurtz.
The town hopes to split the property into two to four smaller parcels, which could be sold and developed separately. At a minimum, Kurtz said, the property will probably be split into two pieces — one containing the building complex, and one containing the forest and riverbank.
“Our hope is that it would be split into at least two parcels,” Kurtz said. “But we don’t know yet if or how that is possible.”
Whether it can be split into more pieces than that may be determined by whether it is possible to demolish certain buildings, she said.
Developers will be sent a request for proposals probably in January, Kurtz said. Rather than simply selling to the highest bidder, this way the town chooses its buyer based on a holistic proposal, allowing the town to maintain some control over how the property is used.
A rubric for evaluating proposals has not been settled yet. But the basic goals for the site include job creation and housing, Kurtz said.
“The vision for it right now is that it will most likely be a mixed-use property,” Kurtz explained. “It would be surprising if there were only one use happening there, because it is such a complex piece of buildings and land.”
If the request for proposals is indeed sent out in January, Kurtz said, the town will probably select a redevelopment concept by March or April.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.