The next step for site preparation of the former Century Aluminum plant in Jackson County

JACKSON COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — When New Jersey-based Applied Partners purchased the 2,200-acre Century Aluminum site and surrounding property, it used $13.5 million of its own money and a $15-million loan from the West Virginia Economic Development Authority to seal the deal.

Applied's plan was to strip the site of any valuable metals, do demolition and cleanup and then place one of its industrial subsidiaries on the property.

"The original plan was Plan A, was to demolish the facility, take the scrap, sell the scrap on the metals market and use the scrap proceeds to pay off the loan," Steve Webb, the director of financial services for the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, said. "And then they would own that industrial site and there was a company from Delaware that owned some of the residual property that was not the industrial site. And then they were going to sell it for re-use and redevelopment."

Problems cropped up, however.

"The metals market had collapsed somewhat in pricing and they didn't believe that they would have enough scrap proceeds to liquidate the loan," Webb said.

After paying back $3.5 million of the $15 million owed to the state, Applied Partners wanted out of the deal.

"We had a frank discussion in this very room about how long do we want to take to get to the inevitable ownership of the real estate by the state? Do we want to pursue it through the courts and court action, which is very expensive? Or, we're gonna wind up with the property anyway, so we executed what is called a deed in lieu of foreclosure agreement," Webb said.

Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, said he is encouraged.

"We always look with optimism toward these types of events," Carmichael said. "And I think that the previous owners did not utilize the property in the right manner and now this frees it for an opportunity to be prosperous once again."

Avoiding a court case meant handing the property's deed over to the state could happen relatively quickly. Late last month, the final papers were signed and West Virginia now owns the 2,200 hundred acres, including the old Century Aluminum site at a cost of the remaining loan balance of $11.5 million. That is about $5,200 an acre.

But Applied Partners still has some obligations it has to fulfill.

"Including demolition expenses, we estimate it could be anywhere from $1 (million) to $3 million to complete the demolition of the site," Webb said. "It was agreed that the completion of the demolition, the disposal of the material and related expenses of operating the facility will be added to the loan balance and recovered upon the sale of the real estate."

In addition to not removing debris from the property, the previous owners also created an eyesore by timbering much of the land and failing to reclaim it. Webb said he is sympathetic to complaints about how the property looks but says those trees would have eventually been harvested to make room for any new industries.

"It was going to happen sooner or later anyway," Webb said. "If you're going to do industrial site development, the trees will not be standing when you get finished. So, it's a matter of timing, quite frankly."

With a green light and renewed focus to clear the property and ready it for development, Webb said there is national and international interest from businesses asking about the land and the possibility they could acquire it.

"This is an excellent industrial site," Webb said. "And once the demolition is completed, it could very well be the premiere site in the state."

It's been a long 10 years since Century Aluminum turned off its furnace and locked its doors. There is hope with the state overseeing the demolition and reclamation that new industries and companies could be operating here in the near future.

"It's unfortunate that the previous owners didn't work out," Carmichael said. "But having said that, it is an incredibly valuable piece of property with flat land, river access, rail access, a port and a dock that can be used for great economic benefit for a new owner and the people of West Virginia."