Developer still pursuing Pactiv parcel despite Helene damage
Storm debris lines a railroad bridge (foreground) leading to Pactiv Evergreen’s Canton mill on Saturday, Sept. 28. Cory Vaillancourt photo
Hurricane Helene has dealt serious damage to Pactiv Evergreen’s shuttered Canton paper mill, but the St. Louis-based demolition and development company owner trying to buy the 185-acre parcel remains undeterred.
Back in May, Eric Spirtas of Spirtas Worldwide signed a letter of intent to purchase the mill, which Pactiv closed with little notice in June 2023.
Sources told The Smoky Mountain News that after a prolonged due diligence period, the deal was supposed to close on Oct. 1.
But on that day, a substantial region from Virginia to Florida was still trying to make sense of unprecedented death and destruction from Helene, which dropped more than two feet of rain in many places and disrupted nearly every aspect of modern life.
Canton was again hit hard by flooding from the Pigeon River, which runs right through town and right through the middle of the mill. Floodwaters appear to have inundated the core of the mill, some outbuildings and Pactiv’s other outlying structures, including the company’s corporate office next to Sorrells Street Park and the old post office on Park Street.
Floodwaters have also damaged the mill’s wastewater treatment facility, which treats the town of Canton’s municipal wastewater.
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Haywood County Economic Development Director David Francis told The Smoky Mountain News on Oct. 2 that Pactiv had been “working diligently” to bring that facility back online since Sept. 29. Beth Kelly, a spokesperson for Pactiv, told The Smoky Mountain News on Oct. 3 that the town’s municipal waste is being diverted directly into the Pigeon River, and has been since 7:08 a.m. on Sept. 27 — just as the full brunt of the storm lashed Haywood County.
“Pactiv Evergreen is committed to restoring wastewater treatment service to the town as quickly as possible,” Kelly wrote in a statement to SMN. “We thank our hardworking team in Canton for their unwavering commitment and dedication to restoring operations and supporting the local Canton community.”
Lisa Stinnett, Canton’s town manager, said that as of about 1 p.m. on Oct. 3, Pactiv had requested that water to the mill be turned on so as to aid in cleanup. When it was, breaks in lines became apparent, so it was shut off again. Pactiv repaired the breaks, the water was turned on again, and everything appears to be holding for now.
When reached by phone on Oct. 2, the first thing Spirtas did was offer his sympathies to a community he’s only recently come to know.
“My heart extends to every individual, every family, every business in the area dealing with this,” he said.
Spirtas confirmed that the mill sale did not close on Oct. 1 and despite not receiving any damage updates from Pactiv said he was still pursuing a deal, but added that the tragedy that has unfolded here is “much bigger than any deal.”
“It takes champions to overcome this,” he said, playing on the town’s longstanding affiliation with previous mill owner Champion Fibre. “And I think this area is full of champions.”
On the morning of Oct. 8, Canton Town Manager Lisa Stinnett said she still hadn’t received confirmation that Pactiv had been able to get the wastewater treatment plant up and running again.
