Demolition on the property began two years ago, but it has been paused during the ownership transition.

Now, Roaring Spring Park LLC plans to “accelerate the deconstruction and removal of the existing mill manufacturing building,” according to a news release Tuesday from Steve McKnight, CEO of Altoona Blair County Development Corp., an affiliate of the Blair County Alliance for Business and Economic Growth.

The new ownership group will focus first on taking out the bigger buildings and their connected infrastructure, “while advancing all environmental remediation,” according to the news release.

After that, focus will shift to “site preparation and earthwork to create high valued development sites that can support several types of future industrial uses,” the news release states.

A worker digs through debris at the old Appvion paper mill site. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

RSP will continue working with ABCD to market the site, while seeking state development help, according to the news release.

At 350 acres, the tract would be the biggest available industrial site in Blair County, according to the news release.

The tract aligns with “our strategic planning efforts,” according to the news release.

It will take RSP 16 to 24 months to “clear the debris, stabilize the waterways near the building and regrade” to prepare the site for future businesses, the news release stated.

The manufacturing plan was first built in 1865, according to the news release.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunsl

Papermaking operations ceased in 2021.

A company called SafeGate, created by Safeco Environmental Services of Dilliner, Pa., and Newgate Global Resources of North Canton, Ohio, began the demolition work a little over two years ago.

Around that time, at a public meeting in the borough, the ownership group and ABCD representatives spoke of plans to create a recreation complex that could include a track, football and soccer fields, green space and trails, with the potential eventually for a public amphitheater.

Plans for a recreational complex aren’t necessarily in play anymore, Roaring Spring Borough Council President Jim Musselman told the Mirror last month.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.