THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION :: Our Business Community :: Corporate Relocation Services, Commercial Real Estate, Warehousing and Storage

For almost 90 years the Imperial Wallpaper Mill prospered along the banks of the Saranac River in Plattsburgh, New York. From its meager start around 1916 with an 18,478 sq ft building and power dam, the Mill continued to add new structures, land and employees. At the Mill’s peak in the late 1990s it provided over 600 quality jobs within 550,000 sq ft of floor space located on 46 acres of land.

In 1999 the Mill was forced to close its wallpaper making operation. Challenged with changing preferences in North America’s home décor, engineering advances in the science of papermaking, and increased foreign competition, the Mill could no longer sustain its operations. This closure changed the lives of hundreds of families who had worked at the Mill for generations.

From 1999 to May 2003 the Mill stood nearly vacant with only a skeleton Imperial workforce of four, responsible for the maintenance of the facility and fire suppression systems as well as the operation of the massive steam production plant during the winter heating season.

Following the Mill’s closure, several prospective buyers inspected the facility as a possible investment opportunity. Although the sale price seemed reasonable, the deferred maintenance and conversion costs of transforming the Mill from a single-tenant user to a multi-tenant industrial park intimidated most prospects. Finally, in the spring of 2003, a small investment company from the west coast made a giant leap of faith and purchased the Mill.

A marketing plan was developed for the newly-named Imperial Industrial Park with a vision of removing the remaining wallpaper equipment and then subdividing the buildings into spaces suitable for smaller manufacturing, warehouse distribution, and office space. As one can imagine, a 550,000 sq ft facility incorporating architectural designs dating from the beginning to the end of the twentieth century presents a significant renovation challenge. A walk through the existing facility is like taking a walk through a history of 20th century building designs.

Through the combined efforts of the City of Plattsburgh, the New York State Department of Economic Development, the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce, The Development Corporation, and several key commercial real estate leasing companies (Cross Border Development & Whitbeck Real Estate), the Mill has made significant progress in providing “New Homes for Business”. The approach has been to draw a road map for success for every prospective tenant with a win/win goal for the tenant, landlord and future workforce. The current Imperial Industrial Park tenant list has now reached 29 companies.

Much of the initial conversion work has consisted of constructing new loading dock doors. Nineteen of these doors have been installed to date and more are planned. Outdated lighting has been replaced with highly efficient fixtures. One 12,000 sq ft room had hundreds of incandescent light bulbs and still provided inadequate lighting. This new lighting effort has reduced the electric consumption cost by about two thousand dollars each month. Subdivision walls have been erected, creating smaller areas to accommodate new tenant space requirements. Offices, bathrooms, lunch and conference rooms have been built or updated. The massive four-boiler steam plant used in the wallpaper production has been refitted with a smaller and much more efficient natural gas burner. This change is providing additional thousands of dollars in annual energy cost savings. Hundreds of gallons of fresh paint have been purchased and applied to the walls and ceilings.

Progress is being made in renovations to a daunting 10 acres of roof. About half of the roof has been replaced with a rubber membrane. Work is now underway to prepare an additional 200,000 sq ft of roof for new insulation and coverings. Hundreds of roof penetrations used in the Mill operations are being removed and capped. This alone is expected to save thousands of dollars in energy costs as most of the roof vents act as chimneys, releasing valuable heat into the winter sky.

This spring the Imperial Industrial Park learned through the City of Plattsburgh’s Community Development Office that it qualified for “Restore New York” grant funding. This money is intended for the upgrading of facilities which can provide space for new business growth in underutilized and outdated buildings. Under the grant guidelines, the Imperial Industrial Park may be qualified for a $2.5 million dollar award. Imperial will also invest an additional $1.5 million dollars. If the grant is awarded, work for the identified projects must be completed utilizing Imperial’s funds and then reimbursed with grant funding. Announcements of the grant awards are expected during the month of August, 2009.

Prior to the grant application, the Imperial Industrial Park invested about $1.7 million dollars in facility upgrades. While significant progress has been achieved, much work remains. The Restore New York Grant will greatly speed up the renovation program and avoid the need to spread out the work and cost of additional facility improvements over many years. When completed, new businesses thinking about locating in this area will be able to actually experience rather than just imagine the concept of the new Imperial Industrial Park. The flexible space opportunities and very low electric cost, combined with a clean, bright and functional facility with historic roots should be a strong motivator to make Plattsburgh their “New Home for Business”.

Recent tenant additions have included Cintube International, who will support the new Nova Bus plant in Plattsburgh by providing highly specialized tube bending services. Cintube is planning a major production expansion as Nova Bus comes into full production. Hanet Plastics is manufacturing cookie trays for Girl Scout Cookies, Bear-Paws, Chips-Ahoy, and others. Hanet likes to say that theirs is a recession proof industry, as every grandmother keeps a box of cookies in the pantry, even during a recession. ATM Rail, IEC Holden and Lemieux Industries have recently moved into the park and will be supporting the expanding rail and bus manufacturing services in the Plattsburgh area.

Some of the additional Imperial Industrial Park tenants include Columbia Frame, a large distributor of mirrors and picture frames. Kraft Pizza utilizes the facility for frozen storage and distribution of their DiGiorno Pizzas. Ashley Furniture operates a customer pick up location for their downtown furniture sales. Wal-Mart utilizes the parking area for a trailer staging area. Two freight forwarding companies, Allsource Logistics and Metropolitan Warehouse Logistics, perform warehouse and distribution services for a number of Canadian companies who sell in the US.

The Imperial Industrial Park also provides business housing for Tropical Valley Fruit, Capital Environmental Services, Herman Trombley Painting, Adirondack Penny Saver, North Country Kids, Valley Sanitation, C & D Equipment, USA/CAN Media Distribution and a variety of other marketing sales and service companies.

An exciting addition to the tenant list includes the North Country Work Force Partnership, which will create a training center for electricians and plumbers. Classes will start this August.

While it will take time to replace all of the great jobs lost by the closing of the Imperial Wallpaper Mill, the Imperial Industrial Park is well on its way to replacing those jobs with a rich variety of new business opportunities and jobs for the North Country’s work force. In time, the site may once again return as one of the community’s important economic engines.