New facility for Bayside metal yard under way
In just two months, New England Metal Recycling Co. will relocate its scrap yard from Somerset Street to a new 12,000-square-foot warehouse and facility on 13 acres on Riverside Street, completing a six-year process.
The company, owned by Schnitzer Northeast in Everett, Mass., one of the world's largest recycled metal processors, plans to build a $465,000 warehouse at 568 Riverside St., property formerly occupied by Lucas Tree Experts Inc and owned by the city. According to city documents, the building inspector's office issued a permit for this project earlier this month. Patco Construction of Sanford is listed as the contractor.
The company paid the city $1.4 million for the land in 2009, according to Rick Knowland, a senior planner with the city's planning division.
Knowland says the warehouse will be a state-of-the-art facility that will hide the scrap metal piles from view. Extensive plantings will shield neighboring Westbrook from the operations as well, he says.
"The new facility will have environmental controls," says Knowland. The main facility will have a concrete surface to prevent contaminants from going into the ground and also curbing to direct storm water runoff into a treatment system to protect the nearby Presumpscot River.
Schnitzer Northeast spokesman Colin Kelley says New England Metal Recycling officials went to the city six years ago after they realized the city wanted to redevelop the Bayside neighborhood. He says the company said then it was willing to work with the city to stay in Portland and efforts to relocate its scrap metal operation to Riverside Street took shape.
Besides its Portland operation, Kelley says the company also owns a scrap yard facility in Auburn. He says about five people work in Portland and another five jobs could be created at the new facility. He also says that more jobs could follow over time.
In February, Greg Mitchell, the city's economic development director, told Mainebiz the 12.9 acres the city sold to New England Metal Recycling were part of 54 city-owned acres on Riverside Street. Previous owners Lucas Tree Experts owned the entire parcel before selling it to the city in 2006 for $5 million as part of an attempt to revitalize the Bayside neighborhood. The $5 million deal was financed by The Trust for Public Land. Mitchell says the city hopes to find other companies to occupy the land it owns on Riverside Street.
Kelley explains the new facility will enable New England Recycling Co. to get its truck traffic in and out of the Riverside Street facility without disrupting the neighborhood. The site is also closer to the Maine Turnpike, which will make it easier for truck drivers to transport scrap metal from Portland to Massachusetts, where is then shipped to countries like Turkey, India and China where demand for scrap metal remains high.
"Certainly, Portland will be the flagship of our Maine operations," he says.
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