'It's the dawn of a new day': Brownfield redeveloper out to find new use for Iroquois Falls mill.

AuthorRoss, Ian
PositionNEWS

Iroquois Falls Mayor Michael Shea remembers his first meeting with Justus Veldman in the Porter Airways lounge in Toronto on Dec. 22, 2014.

It was the same day the last roll of newsprint was coming off the No. 8 paper machine at Resolute's soon-to-be-shuttered mill in the northeastern Ontario town of 4,500.

Earlier that month, the Quebec forest products giant had decided to permanently pull the plug on the mill, putting 180 out of work.

Prior to meeting with Resolute's corporate heads in Montreal, Shea extended a cold-call invitation to Veldman to ask if he was interested in joining him, which the Sault Ste. Marie-based brownfield redeveloper enthusiastically accepted.

"Since that day, we've had a good relationship," Shea said about finding a kindred spirit. "I think he's like a brother somehow."

Shea was well aware of Veldman's growing body of work in Northern Ontario, beginning with the demolition the former St. Marys Paper mill site in the Sault, and preservation of its century-old sandstone buildings into a vibrant community gathering place.

The year's worth of negotiations that followed between Veldman's company and Resolute culminated in a Ian. 19 announcement before a packed house at the Iroquois Falls Community Centre that the mill and more than 300 acres of Resolute property in and around the town were being transferred to Riversedge and the municipality in an asset sale agreement.

"It's the dawn of a new day in Iroquois Falls," said the ebullient mayor.

Veldman's company, operating under the project banner of Abitibi Riversedge, picks up 115 acres, including the mill and a trestle bridge built during the Abitibi Paper Company days to haul wood into town.

How much land is being transferred to the town remains unclear, but Shea said the municipality will be handed over several acres of wooded and cleared land through the Riversedge acquistion, some on the banks of the Abitibi River, along with an historic company guest house.

A Resolute media spokesperson was unable to provide any information on the amount of acreage sold by the company, except to say the sale was finalized on the day of the public announcement.

To exclusively manage the Iroquois Falls project, Riversedge inked a partnership agreement with MHPM, one of Canada's largest project management firms.

"It's a big step for us as a company, and much needed," said Veldman, whose award-winning company is involved in other industrial and urban revival projects in Sault Ste...

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