Former Mill Redeveloped

to Create 500 Jobs

Brewer, Maine The City of Brewer is located in the northwestern portion of 

the state of Maine along the Penobscot River and has a rich history 

of paper manufacturing. Beginning in 1889, Eastern Fine Paper 

operated a lumber mill, then moved to lumber and pulp, and finally 

become a pulp and paper manufacturer. The company owned and 

operated a mill in the city for more than 100 years. It became the 

city’s largest property tax payer and largest employer, employing 

more than 900 people at its peak. 

In September of 2000, Eastern Fine Paper’s parent company filed 

for bankruptcy protection. The company was unable to recover 

and in January 2004, Eastern Fine Paper filed for bankruptcy 

and closed its operations leaving 430 residents unemployed. In 

the months following the closure, the City formed South Brewer 

Redevelopment, LLC (SBR) to spearhead the assessment, cleanup 

and redevelopment of the 41-acre Eastern Fine Paper mill property 

located on the Penobscot River. In May 2004, SBR obtained 

ownership of the mill through tax foreclosure. 

In 2004, using funds from an EPA Brownfields State and Tribal 

grant, Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) 

initiated an environmental assessment on the property. Results 

from this assessment indicated that an emergency removal was 

necessary and EPA Region 1’s Emergency Response and Planning 

Branch performed a time-critical removal action. As part of the 

removal action, Maine DEP and EPA Region 1 conducted a number 

of removal activities including: consolidating and staging hundreds 

of drums, totes and chemical containers; inventorying and staging 

laboratory chemicals; removing, consolidating, staging and disposing 

of thousands of fluorescent bulbs, mercury switches, thermostats, 

fire extinguishers and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) ballasts; 

consolidating, staging and removing empty containers; bulking 

contents of similar chemical containers; draining, removing and 

consolidating PCB transformers; and assisting in the loadout of 

chemicals and oils for reuse, recycling and disposal. 

continued • 

An aerial view of the redeveloped property, 

with module construction underway. 

JUST THE FACTS: • Property redevelopment was 

completed with the help of EPA 

Brownfi elds Assessment, Cleanup, 

and Revolving Loan Fund grants, 

as well as Brownfields State and 

Tribal funding. 

• The former paper mill was 

transformed into a modular 

construction facility which began 

operations in 2008. 

• The facility hosted a grand opening 

on August 15, 2008, to celebrate 

the successful cleanup and 

redevelopment of the property. 

The new 

manufacturing facility 

is expected to provide 

500 well-paid jobs. 
In 2005, the City of Brewer was awarded a $350,000 EPA Brownfi elds Assessment grant 

to assist with the current assessment efforts conducted on the property. By October 

2007, the final assessment reports were completed and cleanup was underway. 

In 2006, SBR was awarded a Brownfields Cleanup grant as well as two CONTACTS: supplemental grants awarded in 2008 to fund cleanup activities at the property. 

Simultaneously, the City of Brewer was awarded a $1 million Brownfields For more information contact

Revolving Loan Fund grant to help the City address issues with contaminated U.S. EPA REGION 1

(617) 918-1105 

properties. 

Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: 

While the assessment and cleanup were taking place, SBR began looking http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 

for developers and reuse ideas for the property. Initially, SBR scheduled the 

property to be redeveloped as an adaptive reuse property, meaning the existing 

buildings would be adapted for store fronts, apartments, and office space. For 

a variety of reasons, they decided not to proceed with the initial plan and instead 

chose to go with a new idea and developer, Niemann Capital. While working with their 

new developer, officials from the redevelopment corporation were approached by the Cianbro 

Corporation in February 2007. Cianbro Corporation is a construction and construction services company 

that specializes in heavy industrial, energy systems, marine, commercial, and 

industrial construction. Because of the property’s proximity to the water, it 

was a good fit for a modular construction facility, where large pieces of 

machinery or components are built and then shipped to the site where 

they will be used. Since the city had a highly skilled workforce and 

there was the potential of leveraging 500 high paying jobs, SBR seized 

the opportunity to work with Cianbro Corporation. The redevelopment 

corporation met with their developer who, upon hearing of the offer, 

agreed to close the contract. This allowed SBR to partner with Cianbro 

Demolition in progress on main mill buildings at Corporation. To assist with costs associated with the property, Cianbro 

the former Eastern Fine Paper property. Corporation applied for and received a $550,000 loan from the City of 

Brewer’s EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund. 

The former Eastern Fine Paper mill property has been renamed the Eastern Manufacturing Facility. 

Modular component manufacturing began at the yard in April 2008, to support a $7 billion refinery 

expansion project in Port Arthur, Texas. The facility currently employs more than 358 people and is 

expected to employ 500 well-paid, highly skilled workers by the end of the year. On August 15, 2008, 

the facility hosted a grand opening celebration and open house for the community to mark the successful 

cleanup and redevelopment of the property. The Mayor of Brewer, EPA officials, state representatives, 

U.S. Senators and Representatives, and the CEO of Cianbro Corporation attended the event. 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA 560-F-08-313 

Brewer, Maine and Emergency November 2008 

Eastern Manufacturing Facility Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/