Alger Sullivan Mill Property In Century Cleaned Up For The First Time Since 2016; Old Owner Faces $85K In Fines

October 15, 2021

For the first time since it was ravaged by tornado five years ago, the former Alger Sullivan Lumber Mill property in Century is officially cleaned up.

The 38-acre abandoned industrial site was heavily damaged and was mostly untouched since EF-3 tornado winds of 150 mph on February 15, 2016.

The property was purchased March 1, 2021, by Creighton Sounds, LLC of Pensacola for an industrial project, the nature of which has not yet been announced. But the company has made good on a promise to clean up the property.

Environmental enforcement costs and fines of $50 a day had accumulated against the previous property owners since 2016. Earlier this year, a special magistrate ordered the fines on the property put on hold as of March 1, the date of the property purchase by Creighton Sounds.

Now that Escambia County Code Enforcement has signed off on the cleanup, a final cost order was issued this week by a special magistrate for $85,000. The previous owner, DMT Holdings LLC of Navarre, placed $85,000 in a trust fund at the time of sale to pay the fines.

The principal owner of Creighton Sounds was involved in “Project Fusion” that in November 2020 canceled a pending contract with the Town of Century to purchase the former Helicopter Technology building and about 40 acres in the Century Industrial Park. The company had promised 80 new jobs and a $15.3 million capital investment during their first five years.

“We’re very excited that we’re in Century to help the fine folks of that town to bring jobs and to clean up an area that’s been devastated by a tornado since 2016 that ravished their neighborhood,” Creighton Sounds representative Kipp Anglin told NorthEscambia.com in March, when he appeared before an Escambia County Special Magistrate Robert O. Beasley to ask the county to put code enforcement violation fines on hold.

Creighton Sounds worked over the past few months to salvage about 60,000 square feet of one large building on the property. The structure was stripped to its metal skeleton.

Escambia County received three bids for the demolition and cleanup of the mill in 2017, but bids ranged from $800,000 to $3 million — far in excess of the county’s entire 2017 cleanup budget of $463,425. Property records show the value of the property was $802,189 before the tornado, but the most recent assessment shows what remains was worth $226,535.

Pictured above and below: The former Alger Sullivan Lumber Mill property in Century as seen in 2020. Pictured inset: A 2019 view of the building as seen from an adjacent neighborhood on Front Street. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

4 Responses to “Alger Sullivan Mill Property In Century Cleaned Up For The First Time Since 2016; Old Owner Faces $85K In Fines”

  1. David Huie Green on October 16th, 2021 12:34 pm

    How can they call it cleaned up?? THERE’S STILL DIRT ALL OVER THE GROUND!!

    (That was a joke.)

    The cleanup efforts were serious and I wish them well.

  2. Willene Bryan on October 16th, 2021 7:53 am

    It looks great from the clean up. They really did do a good job cleaning it up. I pray they have something there that can give a lot of people a job.

  3. Carl Godwin on October 15th, 2021 1:52 pm

    I think most of the town folks have been excited to see what the new owners have done. We are all waiting to see it completed and what it may bring for the town in the future. They have did a great job so far cleaning it up and I hope it will be a big success for all of us.

  4. Alan on October 15th, 2021 8:27 am

    An amazing improvement and somehow i have a feeling for less than half the lowest bid received in 2017. Not sure what the new owners have planned but with them success.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News