New plan proposal for former Appvion Paper Mill as demolition begins

Demolition of the Appvion Paper Mill in Roaring Spring has officially begun, and plans are in the works for what will eventually take its place.

Representatives from the companies working on the site shared their post-demolition plans at the Roaring Spring Borough council meeting on Monday night.

The Altoona Blair County Development Corp. along with an engineer working on the demolition presented not only the unique challenges of the site but also a new proposal for the future – a recreational area that will hopefully draw in crowds as well as revenue.

“I’m excited, it’s the first I’ve seen this like everyone else tonight and I just think it’s big thinking and also it’s a proposal," said Rodney Green, president of Roaring Spring Borough Council. "There are many other ideas that might come forward but our biggest concern here at the borough is that the site becomes developable, that it gets cleaned up properly with all of the environmental issues and that big ideas like that that someone can really take them seriously.”

A lot of the discussion during the presentation focused on the environmental issues the site posed for developers.

“As I discussed tonight we have asbestos, we have stream issues, we have legacy waste," said L.J. Seidel, engineer at Stiffler, McGraw & Associates. "We have environmental treatment plans that we need to get rid of and I think that everything that has been conveyed to me made me realize that we’re pretty committed to maintaining the integrity of the area.”

Many residents voiced their concerns about the demolition and new proposal destroying some cherished landmarks.

“I think the loss of the business is something that we’ll never forget because it has such a long history here and many citizens including myself were former employees there," said Green.

Concerns were also raised about the potential funding of the project.

“I think it’s exciting and the pictures look great," said Scott Barger, a local resident and commissioner candidate. "My only question is how are we going to pay it? Some folks here raised the question, is it going to be privately funded or with taxpayer funds. The investment group I think said they’ll use private funds so if they can pull it off I say that’s great.”

Officials say the environmental cleanup will take about 18 to 24 months and then the site will be ready to build on.

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