Mill makeover? Brownfield developer poised to land Marathon Pulp.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: GREEN REPORT

The transfer of a contaminated pulp mill on the north shore of Lake Superior to a U.S. brownfield redeveloper could be completed by this spring.

The president of the Illinois-based Green Investment Group inc. (GIGI) said his company has reached an agreement with Tembec toward finalizing the acquistion of the former Marathon Pulp mill.

Ray Stillwell said in an email that his company, Tembec and the Ministry of Environment (MOE) "came to terms that were acceptable to all parties," at a Nov. 27 meeting.

"It is my understanding that documentation is being prepared now that will reflect that agreement. As a result, further documentation is being prepared between Tembec and our entity to reflect the modified, agreed terms of our transaction."

Established in 2005, GIGI performs environmental makeovers on vacated and contaminated heavy industrial sites, then attracts small companies engaged in green business manufacturing such as biofuels and bioenergy.

Its first property acquistion was the Alton Steel redevelopment in its hometown, located just east of St. Louis, MO.

The company was founded and is co-owned by Stillwell, a Midwestern lawyer, and Mark Spizzo, a former economic development officer for the state of Illinois.

GIGI has made its mark in recent years by picking up former Smurfit-Stone paper mills across North America, including properties in Bathurst, N.B. and two in Quebec, at Portage-du-Fort and New Richmond.

At the Marathon site, one potential tenant is Protocol Biomass of Toronto, which has been eyeballing the North Shore mill as a site to make torrified wood pellets for export to European customers.

"We are also excited as we entertain opportunities for the site with various companies and technologies," said Stillwell in his email, without going into specifics on his plans.

"Due to the holiday season and remaining title searches, etc., it is likely that the closing will not occur until March. Work is proceeding diligently anyway"

A Tembec spokeswoman chose not to comment on the negotiations with GIGI and the MOE which she categorized as "ongoing."

Lisa Brygidyr, the MOE's issues management coordinator in Thunder Bay, said ministry staff were reviewing information provided by GIGI that it "has the capacity to take over those environmental requirements."

Though the ministry is familiar with the company's track record, GIGI has to "demonstrate to us that they can back up what they say they can financially provide."

"Once we're satisifed...