'It's ready for the next 100 years': northern Ontario town pins hopes on redevelopment of old paper mill

During a tour of the old Abitibi paper mill that for decades was the lifeblood of the small northern Ontario town, Iroquois Falls locals marvel at how different it looks.

They point to lines on the floor where offices used to be and giant depressions in the ground outside where the paper machines sat for over a century.

"And it's ready for the next 100 years," said John Veldman, the chief operating officer of the BMI group, which bought the old mill in 2016.

"Call it the next era."

The previous era ended 10 years ago, right before Christmas 2014, with the closing of the paper mill, then owned by Resolute Forest Products, and the laying off of 180 workers.

BMI Group has spent the past seven years spending millions of dollars cleaning up the soil on the 120-hectare site beside the Abitibi River, demolishing much of the old mill and clearing out the inside to get ready for new tenants in what is now being re-branded as "Abitibi Connex."

"The environmental has taken longer than we thought it would, so there's been some delays there. But today we're very optimistic. I think the north is primed for growth, but these are big projects," he said. 

"It's not an easy process to rethink a century-long industry. You're going from papermaking to what's next. And that takes time."

Veldman envisions an industrial and agricultural hub with space rented out to storage businesses, mining supply firms and others.

He says BMI also intends to get directly into agriculture, by planting crops on its property on the other side of the river from the old mill.

Veldman says they are expecting to announce one of the first new tenants in the next six months, but in the meantime have hired planners to map out the future for the site.

"Where can you rebuild? Where can you put new buildings? Where can you lease out space? Can some of it be rezoned for residential?" he said.

"Go through a process so it can be set up for the next generations."

Iroquois Falls Mayor Tory Delaurier says the town has survived its first decade without the mill and has even seen an influx of newcomers, as well as some new small businesses move in, but he knows that citizens are getting impatient. 

"People really want things to happen now. And I do too," he said.

"But at the end of the day, it's what's best for the community. And we'll get things done and things are looking very promising."

Delaurier said the town's tax base is still "not very healthy," mostly relying on residential taxpayers since the paper mill represented one third of all tax revenue going into municipal coffers. 

He says he remains confident that Iroquois Falls is going to "land something big" in the coming years.