|
I think in March 2023 when Pactiv Evergreen announced it would shut down its Canton paper mill, no one would have expected the property would already be sold at this point.
However, the company and the new owner of the property, Eric Spirtas, have defied that expectation. Although the sale went through a little bit later than initially planned because of extensive damage due to Hurricane Helene, it's now done.
Questions surrounding that property have lingered since the shutdown was announced. What environmental issues will be uncovered? Will the Pigeon River's water quality improve? Will the local economy absorb the shock? Most of those questions have been answered, at least to some degree, but the big one still remains. What will become of the property?
Spirtas promises to bolster the local economy by using different parts of the property for different purposes, but it's hard to imagine what that might look like. While the mill was beloved by most locals for providing hundreds and at times thousands of high-paying jobs, it's interesting to consider what opportunity might await the town and county when it comes to that large, dormant piece of property.
— Kyle Perrotti, News Editor |
