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Fort Frances community waits to hear intentions of new mill owners

Questions remain about the conditions of the purchase agreement with Resolute.
Abitibi Mill Fort Frances 1 (2)

FORT FRANCES, ON – The news that Resolute Forest Products had completed the transfer of its Fort Frances pulp and paper mill came as no surprise to anyone in Fort Frances on Monday.

Resolute had a tentative agreement to sell the property as early as February to a company which it described as specializing in the "integrated revitalization of distressed industrial properties."

That company turned out to be Riversedge Developments, a brownfield redevelopment firm that previously acquired Resolute's shuttered mill at Iroquois Falls and the former Norampac mill site at Red Rock, as well as a former pulp and paper mill site in Sault Ste. Marie.  

According to a news release from the Town of Fort Frances, the new owner is a subsidiary of Riversedge which is held in partnership with "a local entity."

What the involvement of a local partner means in terms of meeting the town's goal of retaining the mill as a manufacturing facility—rather than stripping it for salvage before demolition—remains unknown.

In March, the Town of Fort Frances announced that it would impose strict conditions through its site plan control process in the event any new owner made moves to tear the mill down.

In a statement Monday, the town said it looks forward to the buyer confirming its intentions for the mill properties "and their return to economic productivity for Fort Frances and the surrounding area."

So far there has been no public statement from Riversedge Developments, but an announcement is expected in the coming days.

Fort Frances Mayor June Caul was not in her office Tuesday, however Councillor Douglas Judson said there are "lots of questions" in the community about the nature of the new owner's obligations under the purchase agreement with Resolute.

Judson said the town has met with the buyer and has had "positive" conversations.  

He added that provincial government officials have also given "a lot of positive signs" about their willingness to discuss a wood supply for the mill should it be restarted, but there is still "a lot of concern and emotion" in Fort Frances about what might happen next.

Judson said the concern reflects the fact that Resolute had made it clear it had no interest in selling the mill to any party that might be in competition with it for wood fibre.



Gary Rinne

About the Author: Gary Rinne

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Gary started part-time at Tbnewswatch in 2016 after retiring from the CBC
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