DEED commissioner tours Mill District

by Dennis Dalman

news@thenewsleaders.com

The ongoing Mill District Project in Sartell received a boost in support July 19 when the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development visited Sartell.

Commissioner Matt Varilek toured the empty site of the once-thriving paper mill, along with city and county officials. A master plan calls for redevelopment of that site in the near future. It is one of the most ambitious plans in the city’s history. (For more historical details, see the ending part of this story.)

Varilek spoke to the tour group.

“The Mill District in Sartell,” he said, “is a testament to the power of community collaboration and innovation. DEED is pleased to work with local leaders and small businesses around the state to preserve the historical essence of our communities while promoting economic growth. DEED is committed to working with communities on projects that not only boost the local economy but also enhance the quality of life for residents.”

Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum, who accompanied Varilek on the tour, thanked him for his support.

“We are honored to have Commissioner Varilek visit the Mill District,” Fitzthum said. “His support and insights are invaluable as we continue to work toward our vision of a thriving and dynamic redevelopment. We look forward to engaging with DEED as we work toward our goals.”

Others who joined the April 19 plant-site tour were – besides the mayor – Sartell City Council member Tim Elness, Minnesota House Rep. Tim O’Driscoll (R-Sartell), many city staff members, Benton County Commissioner Jared Gapinski and representatives of the Benton County Economic Partnership and the St. Cloud Development Corp.

DEED has previously helped out on the project plans. In December 2022, it awarded a grant of $50,000 to do a study of possible contamination at the former paper mill’s property.

Disaster

On the morning of Memorial Day 2012, an explosion at the Verso paper plant killed one employee and started a massive fire that took several fire departments several days to totally extinguish. Later, Verso announced the plant would shut down permanently. The fire and the shut-down stunned and saddened residents who felt deeply how paper mills on that site had provided jobs and prosperity to so many for more than a century.

Looking forward

A company (American Iron & Metal) bought the huge paper-mill property and demolished structures and cleared the site, recycling most of its materials. Long after the site was just a big empty lot, Sartell bought the site back from the company earlier this year.

That is when the Mill District redevelopment plan picked up steam as a master plan began to develop, guided by the city’s hiring of consultant Anita Archambeau, who had been for years Sartell’s community director and assistant administrative director. She now has her own consulting business in Illinois.

About a month ago, Archambeau visited Sartell to attend a city council meeting where she presented her “Mill District Concept Plan and Redevelopment Strategy,” which the council approved on a 4-0 vote. (One council member was not at that meeting.)

The council agreed the next step should be to hire a project manager and/or an owners’ group to market the site statewide and nationally so the plans can move forward expeditiously.

Among the Mill District Project’s plans are a potential mix of residential and business uses as well as recreational amenities tied to the Mississippi River on the property’s west side.

DEED

The Minnesota Department of Employment Economic Development was formed in July 2003 by merging two Minnesota entities – the Department of Trade and Economic Development and the Department of Economic Security.

DEED works to help bring about business and community development and strengthens workforce opportunities. It also maintains a Division of Communications, Analysis and Research.

Varilek

Matt Varilek, who visited Sartell July 19 for the Mill District tour, became DEED Commissioner in June 2023. Before that he was president of the Initiative Foundation, based in Little Falls, which supports economic development in 14 counties and two sovereign tribal nations in central Minnesota. He was also chief operations officer for the U.S. Small Business Administration as well as several other jobs involving various kinds of developments. At one time, he was a speechwriter for U.S. Sens. Tom Daschle (D-South Dakota) and Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota).

Varilek earned a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College (Minnesota), a master’s degree in economic-development  from the University of Glasgow (Scotland) and another master’s degree in environment and development from Cambridge University (England).

He lives in rural Benton County (near Rice) with his wife and three children.

History

The first paper-making plant in Sartell was the Watab Pulp and Paper Mill, founded by a group of Wisconsin investors. It opened in 1907. The plant produced paper for newspapers and much later glossy paper for magazines.

The plant was operated by a hydro-electric dam that was completed in 1907 – a dam that still remains.

For more than a century, the various paper mills on the site were an economic bedrock of the City of Sartell and also provided jobs for residents of other cities in the general area.

In 1946, the St. Regis paper company bought the plant and expanded its facilities. In 1984, St. Regis decided to merge with Champion International. In 2000, there was yet another change when a company called International Paper bought the plant. In 2006, the plant was again purchased by the Verso Paper Co., headquartered in Ohio. That company was the owner of the plant when disaster struck on a beautiful spring morning in 2012, just an hour or two after a Memorial Day service took place in Veterans Park, just across the river from the paper mill.

At its peak, Verso employed nearly 500 workers who produced the staggering amount of 850 tons of paper each day.

On Aug. 2, 2012 (just two months after the explosion/fire), Verso announced the permanent closing of the plant.

After that tragedy, city officials and others started to explore how that empty site could be developed. In early 2023, there was a citywide survey and many public meetings of what kinds of developments residents would like to see on that site. There were also lots of studies and consultations done. All the information gathered was used to draft the Mill District Concept Plan and Redevelopment Strategy approved by the city council on June 24.