A cardboard recycling facility is looking to locate on the former Westinghouse/ABB site west of Bloomington — an investment estimated at $350 million with the creation of around 100 jobs.
Business and government officials are hopeful the unidentified employer will locate at the vacant industrial site along North Curry Pike, but first need to address the impact the company will have on the city’s infrastructure, because it is a high producer of industrial wastewater.
The prospect of bringing a new facility to Monroe County’s west side came forward about a month ago, said Bloomington Economic Development Corp. President Lynn Coyne. He said the facility processes used cardboard into a form that can be manufactured into containers. Officials are not releasing the name of the facility or company, which has not yet asked for any public financing. Coyne said the company plans to use the entire 69 acres of the former Westinghouse/Asea Brown Boveri site and to employ 100 people at around $30 an hour.
The Monroe County site is one of three locations that the prospective company is reviewing, Coyne said.
“It is a very complex situation where the community is tasked with going back and saying, ‘Based on what you’ve said, here is what we can do for you,’” Coyne said. “‘We would like to have you, but we understand it is a competitive environment and here’s what we are willing to do.’”
To help recruit the company — and ensure that its high volume of wastewater doesn’t overtax the community infrastructure — officials are discussing a new county industrial pretreatment wastewater facility.
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