Just two days before the three-year anniversary of the announcement that the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill in Canton would close, Canton’s governing board took a decisive step toward securing both its wastewater infrastructure and its economic future by approving a complex land purchase that will place key portions of the former paper mill site under municipal control.
“This is just the next chapter in a story that we started several months ago. We went to Raleigh to seek money to purchase the west side of the property, we have been going through due diligence and it’s to the point now that we’ve got an agreement,” said Zeb Smathers, Canton’s mayor.
On March 4, Canton’s governing board approved the agreement with Two Banks Development LLC to purchase two critical parcels totaling roughly 52.1 acres from the broader 185-acre mill property. The deal includes the chip yard and distribution center immediately, with a second closing no later than 2031 for the industrial-scale wastewater treatment plant that once served the mill and still serves the town…