'Milltown Moonshot': Big ideas on the table for redevelopment of Canton paper mill site

Yahoo

07-05-2025

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Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways
May 7—A high-ranking member of Gov. Josh Stein's administration visited Canton last week as the former paper mill site continues its transition — a project that is massive in terms of both scope and ambition.
Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Reid Wilson met with Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, new mill site owner Eric Spirtas, Haywood County Commissioners Kevin Ensley and Brandon Rogers, and others during the visit. Their wide-ranging conversation served as a recommitment of the public/private partnership upon which Canton has pinned so much of its hopes for the future.
"Obviously DEQ has this regulatory part to it, but these are people that are coming with solutions that want to see us succeed. And so, I see (Secretary Wilson) not only as a partner, but as a family," Mayor Smathers said.
"What's exciting about this is, it is bold. It's not just, 'let's get back to where we were before,'" Secretary Wilson said. "It's thinking about, 'How do we make this town more resilient? How do we protect water quality in the Pigeon? How do we protect our environment? How do we redevelop in a way that brings jobs and people to this beautiful town?'"
DEQ's job is to review permit applications and ensure that laws are followed, Wilson said, adding his department also is a ready and willing partner in the future of the mill site.
"And I just wanted to come out today to learn more about everything that is planned so that we can make sure we're doing what we need to do to assist and help the bold dream become a reality," he said.
The Green Mountain Plan
Much of the meeting involved Spirtas giving Wilson a rundown of how the mill site was impacted by Helene and what the plans for the site will be moving forward.
Spirtas stressed that it is early days (demolition only began last month), and much is still up in the air. But Spirtas didn't see uncertainty as a bad thing. He pointed toward his company's experience with such projects.
"No one has to be embarrassed about not knowing what's in front and not knowing exactly what's going to happen. We've done it before, and we can do it again," he said.
Spirtas called his vision for the mill site "The Green Mountain Plan." In this vision, which he stressed is just one possible outcome for the site, there will be a large reservoir dug next to the Pigeon River to help ameliorate future flooding — 10 to 15 acres of the site's 50-acre expanse.
Along the reservoir would be a public event space, a greenway, and other "town friendly" infrastructure.
"The mayor had a vision well before (I did), and I embrace that, and I say it will be walkable, it'll be enjoyable," Spirtas said.
He also proposed residential zones in areas that are higher up off the river.
"This will be a nine-figure development," Spirtas said of the potential project cost.
Clean water
Environmental issues were also a topic of conversation.
"We're not looking past the fact that this had 115 years of stuff," Spirtas said, placing heavy emphasis on the word stuff. "And so, for anybody who will listen and everybody who wants to know, whatever material we're dealing with flows in one direction. And that's good. Because you can catch it."
The environmental clean-up plan is "voluminous," and involves creating a system that will harvest and process any residual mill pollution before it reaches the Pigeon River.
By working with the previous owners and the EPA, Spirtas said, his group is aware of below-ground contamination, and there is a plan to deal with it as development of the site progresses.
"The collection of environmental materials will be symbiotic with redevelopment. It won't all be done when we're redeveloping, but it'll be in control, and it will not impact the river," he said.
The wastewater treatment plant on the mill site was also discussed, with Spirtas pointing out that the plant had reached pre-storm levels of operation and that the partnership between his company and the Town of Canton was "looking for the next steps."
"I lose sleep over a lot of things, but the future of that wastewater plant and being able to provide the wastewater needs to this town isn't one of them," Smathers said. "We're going to figure that out. The plumbing is working in the town of Canton right now, and we'll get to the other things. It's with partnerships with DEQ, finding the grants, the resources...being creative. You have a sincere cooperation because we believe what this site could be, and it is nothing without infrastructure and wastewater."
Spirtas was also hopeful that the future of wastewater treatment in Canton was secure.
"It can be done. It will be done," he said, calling out the experience of longtime wastewater treatment plant workers who went on Spirtas' payroll after the mill sale. "I look at the guys that are supporting us here. These guys are powerhouses. We have months of running (the wastewater treatment plant) in the current state with people I'm so proud of."
The meeting wrapped with Mayor Smathers once again highlighting the ambitious nature of the site's future.
"This is not the Milltown Miracle. This is the Milltown Moonshot. Why shouldn't we be bold?" Smathers said. "There was a time in this country we were drawn to those types of projects. We let politics and pettiness bring us down. But that's how this town was built. No one came in here and said, 'Let's go small.' So, honoring that tradition is by going bold again."