Abandoned former mill site in Bathurst set to be auctioned off in tax sale

The New Brunswick Department of Finance is auctioningoff an abandoned former mill site in Bathurstlater this month, following years of broken promises from former owners who failed to develop the siteandpay the property taxes owed on it.

Three separate parcels of land along Main Street will be subject to the tax sale, happening at the Best Western Plus in Bathurston June 27, according to a notice issued on the Department of Financewebsite.

The notice does not say how much outstandingtaxes are owed on the properties, which include PIDs06046101, 06544052 and 20827002, totalling $1,673,100 in combined assessed value for 2024, according to Service New Brunswick.

Once a symbol of economic prosperity, the propertiesalongthe mouth of the Nepisiguit Riverhave beena stain on the city's downtown for nearly two decades, said RenLegacy, MLA for Bathurst West-Beresford.

"If you believe ... your downtown is kind of the heart of your city, to see it in such a such a dilapidated state, it doesn't really do much for our confidence and what we project in the world."

The properties used to be the site of a corrugated paper mill, which operated in the city for decades before Smurfit-Stone, the company which owned it at the time, shut itdown in 2005, putting 270 people out of work.

In 2010, Bathurst Redevelopment Inc., a Canadian subsidiary of Illinois-based Green Investment Group, bought the property.

WATCH | 'It is time to start moving':

Abandoned mill site in Bathurst set to be auctioned off

5 months ago

Duration 1:24

The Smurfit-Stone paper mill closed in 2005. Local MLA Ren Legacy says the dilapidated remains are a blight on the community.

The Green Investment Group promised a "green cleanup," but the site was only stripped of valuable metals and equipment and left in disrepair, according to government officials.

After being forced to pay a $150,000 finein 2016, Bathurst Redevelopment Inc. transferred the property to Raymond Robichaud, a businessman from Bouctouche, for $1.

Robichaudpromised to clean up the site in order tobuild luxury condominiums and a strip mall, andthe province agreed to waive$1 million owed in property taxes, so long as he stuck to his commitment to rehabilitate and develop the site.

Years went by, however, and as Robichaudbattled with the City of Bathurst over who should pay to clean upthe site, little was done.

Robichaud died in 2022and while the properties were left to his estate, Legacy said there wasn't interest among relatives in keeping them.

Legacy said with potential new owners, hope has been renewed that the site will someday be redeveloped.

"I don't think there's going to be one fell swoop where everything's fixed and there's a hero that comes down and builds up a major project.

"I think what happens here is there's going to be multiple reiterations of development, so thatthis very large property becomes productive again."

CBC News asked for an interview with Bathurst Mayor Kim Chamberlain but did not receive a response by deadline.

In a written statement, Chamberlain said counciland city staff have been working for months with Premier Blaine Higgs and his government on a solution for the site.

"We appreciate ourtwo levels of government coming together to resolve the future of this property in our city," she said.

"I am optimistic that the announcement of a tax sale will be a sign of progress for Bathurst."

Potential costs to buyer

CBC News asked the Finance Department for an interview about how much in outstanding taxes are owed on the propertiesand exactly how the tax-sale process works, but did not receive a response by deadline.

Legacy said the last time he inquired in 2020, at least $2 million in taxes were owed on the mill properties, including two parcels not included in the tax sale.

According to the provincial Real Property Tax Act, properties subject to tax sale are not to be sold for less than the total taxes and penalties due and unpaid.

Another cost that a new owner would be left on the hook for is the environmental cleanup of the site.

Past estimates have put that cost as high as $12 million, but Legacy said it could cost less depending on how the properties get redeveloped.

"If the project is to make it an industrial site, then obviously the requirements for remediation are a lot less," he said.