Former McLouth Steel, Solutia Sites Interest Potential Buyers in Trenton

Large portions of the former McLouth Steel and Solutia sites could be Trenton eyesores of the past.

City Administrator Jim Wagner said 54 acres of the former McLouth Steel site and the riverside Solutia property are on the market and intriguing potential buyers.

“We have people that are showing interest in these particular sites,” Wagner said.

Wagner and Trenton Mayor Kyle Stack have met with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Detroit Chamber of Commerce, Wayne County Economic Division, Port Authority and McLouth Steel property owner Michael Wilkinson to help market the sites.

“We have built some great relationships with the authorities and opened the lines of communication for other future site developments,” Stack said in her State of the City Address Monday.

While Wagner did not wish to discuss specific businesses interested in the properties, he did say buyers interested in the McLouth Steel would likely be of an industrial nature. He estimates the cost of redeveloping the property for residential use to be in excess of $100 million.

“I don’t think residential use is going to happen at that site because of the environmental issues there,” Wagner said.

He added the site is currently in violation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) laws.

Recently, a portion of a building on the north side of the property caught fire after a cutting torch ignited an oil pit.

Wagner said crews are scrapping “anything and everything” to prepare the site for a potential sale or lease.

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