Corinth Mills Industrial Park: Grassroots Public Affairs

In 2005, Philmet Capital Group purchased the former International Paper paper mill with the goal of transforming the defunct site into a vibrant, multi-tenant industrial park. As a result of communications missteps and cultural differences, the principals of Philmet began to alienate the local community and elected officials. By the time Zone 5 had become involved in the project negotiations between the developer, the Town and the Village had completely broken down. In addition, a citizen opposition group had formed and was receiving significant media attention.

As a direct result of our involvement, public and political attitudes towards the project changed dramatically. When Zone 5 began work on the project relationships had deteriorated to the point where involved parties could not even get together to discuss the project. In fact, the five-member Corinth Village Board voted unanimously to use its power of eminent domain to seize a large portion of the site in an attempt to prevent the project from moving forward. Less than six months after the implementation of our efforts, the Village Board voted 5-0 to drop its eminent domain proceeding. Further, two months after the Village dropped its eminent domain action our continued efforts resulted in the Village Board voting 5-0 to become the municipal sponsor of a $2.5 million Restore New York grant to help move the project along.