Project to revive Kalamazoo County paper mill remains a work in progress

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): It was 2018 that Chris Moore bought the former Fox River paper mill, located less than a mile from downtown Vicksburg.

A Vicksburg native who became wealthy in the tech industry, Moore outlined an ambitious $80 million plan to turn the sprawling mill into a multi-use complex featuring a brewery, a museum, hotel, retail and event spaces and residential apartments.

Eight years later, the mill is still empty.

But the project hasn’t been abandoned. It’s not even stalled, says Steve Sielatycki, vice president for The Mill Group, Moore’s parent company for his Vicksburg ventures.

Progress is being made, Sielatycki said. Things are moving forward.

Indeed, Sielatycki says Moore has poured $53 million of his own money into Vicksburg in the past eight years. That includes:

• Major remediation of the mill complex, which is finally finished. An announcement is expected soon on the next phase of development.

• The purchase of nine commercial properties in downtown Vicksburg.

• The purchase of 35 homes around the mill, which are mostly rented out.

• The creation of music and art residency programs based in Vicksburg.

• Relocation of Mackenzie’s Bakery to Vicksburg. When the owner of the popular Kalamazoo business retired, Moore offered to buy the business with the agreement of moving it to a historic building restored by Moore.

• Retention of the Vicksburg Hardware Store. When the owner of the local hardware store made known he was planning to close, Moore bought the building and is allowing the owner to lease the space at a reduced rent.

In fact, there’s enough activity among Moore’s Vicksburg ventures that The Mill Group has 27 people on its payroll. That includes workers at Mackenzie’s as well as people working on the mill and the downtown properties.

The Mill Group has four main goals listed in its promotional materials: Save historical buildings in Vicksburg; make Vicksburg a destination as a historic village; design and operate “great businesses” in those restored buildings and support “population density while protecting surrounding farmland.”

Moore, 61, has amassed a great fortune in the past three decades. He currently lives in Nevada. He does not have a spouse or children. What he does have is a great affection for his hometown.

“Chris has always described this as sustainable philanthropy,” Sielatycki said.

“He’s making these investments in the mill, in the downtown” with the idea of helping shape the village for decades to come, Sielatycki said. “He calls them 200-year projects.

“He’s just so passionate about the community and is literally putting his money where his mouth is. This is a passion project for him, a calling to make an investment in the community that, I think if you were to ask him, he still says is his home.”

Courtesy: www.mlive.com