Missouri brick factory to get asbestos cleanup with $1.3 million in brownfield tax credits

Dec 25, 2009

Mid America Brick and Structural Clay Products, LLC of Mexico, Missouri has been approved for over $1.3 million in remediation tax credits from the Department of Economic Development (DED) Brownfield Redevelopment Program to redevelop the former A.P. Green Refractories site. The money will go toward re-opening the plant for recommissioning and repurposing of face brick for commercial and residential construction markets. This will help create jobs for more than 100 workers in the community.

The former A.P. Green site served as a brick refractory plant 94 years before it shut down in 2002. It has been abandoned since then. While the plant has lead paint and soil contamination to worry about, the main contaminant that has to be dealt with is asbestos. Asbestos is a toxic mineral that is known to cause several forms of cancer, including mesothelioma, even at low levels of exposure. The tax credits will be used to cover the costs of remediation, demolition, and for jobs and investment.

Once the funding is in order and Mid America takes ownership of the site, the president of the company hopes that the factory will be able to begin production within 12 to 15 months. Mid America has also qualified for an Action Fund Loan of $1 million from the Community Development Block Grant program, which will help pay for equipment and machinery. With over 256,000 workers unemployed in the state of Missouri, local officials are excited about the reopening of this plant.

For the full story, go to Mexico Ledger.

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