Chris Lowrey
LITCHFIELD Dec. 1 , 2017
The Pontiac Industrial Park in Litchfield has a new owner – Seattle, Washington-based Wakefield group.
The purchase was announced by the municipality of Litchfield in a press release on Dec.1.
The Wakefield group is a real estate development company that has properties in the United States in Washington and Montana. This is the first project for the company in Canada.
The industrial park was owned by Green Investment Group Inc. (GIGI) who bought the former Smurfit-Stone mill in 2010.
GIGI’s website lists three tenants in the industrial park: Trebio, the Pontiac Sorting Centre and PDG-SLM – two communications companies based out of Montreal.
However, it appears that the website hasn’t been updated in some time considering Trebio ceased operations in 2015. Trebio received more than $22 million in investments while it was in operation. Of that $22 million, $9 million came from the provincial government and $3.5 million from the federal government.
The Pontiac Sorting Centre and UTEAU – a septic waste management firm – are the remaining tenants on the property. Neither will be affected by the purchase.
Not only is GIGI’s website out of date, but so were the company’s tax payments. According to Litchfield Mayor Colleen Larivière, the company had been in arrears on its taxes since at least 2013.
“In one sense, the impact of this decision has already had a positive effect on the municipality due to the fact that the Wakefield group paid the tax arrears which the Green Investment Group defaulted on,” Larivière said in a press release.
Larivière said negotiations have been ongoing with the company for around a year.
According to a 2014 CBC News investigation, GIGI purchased the Smurfit-Stone plants both here in the Pontiac and in Bathurst, N.B. The company was investigated for failing to clean up the sites like it had promised.
The Bathurst N.B. site was purchased by Bathurst Redevelopment Inc. – a subsidiary of Illinois-based GIGI.
In 2016, Bathurst Redevelopment Inc. was found guilty of failing to clean up the site and fined $150,000.
The maximum fine for an infraction like this is $1 million.
According to the CBC investigation, the two sites were demolished for millions of dollars in scrap metal.
The press release issued by Litchfield said that very little activity or development has taken place on the site since the dismantling of the Smurfit-Stone plant.
In a post on its defunct website, GIGI said in 2011 that it would be relocating its Canadian headquarters to the site.
On its website, the Wakefield group describes the industrial park as a “waterfront property with abundant natural resources.”
The company also says on its website that the goal of the project is “to create a unique mixed-use development near Ottawa and Montreal.” The site is currently zoned as heavy industrial.
As it stands, the Wakefield group has not publicly stated what its plans are for the former Smurfit-Stone site.
Representatives from GIGI did not respond by press time. The person listed on the Wakefield group website as the contact for the Industrial Park said he is no longer with the company.
