In response to recent market interest, RACER Trust invites experienced data center development and operating firms to make an offer to purchase and redevelop 217 acres along the St. Lawrence River. This soon-to-be-repurposed industrial land was once used by General Motors for automotive manufacturing.
RACER’s Massena, New York property recently has attracted interest from developers and operators of data centers and related uses that require large volumes of electricity to operate. This interest was the catalyst for the call for offers, which principally highlights the property’s location and access to high-volume, low-cost renewable energy.
Development of the property, however, is not limited to data centers or similar energy-intensive uses. RACER will consider other qualified offers that maximize the property’s economic potential for the community.
“This is an important step in the positioning of our Massena property to capture a significant economic development opportunity,” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, the administrative trustee of RACER Trust. “Anyone who follows development trends is aware that there has been a surge recently in non-manufacturing projects that require large volumes of power, which makes this the ideal time to reach that market. At the same time, we are continuing to aggressively develop and pursue leads in a variety of economic sectors, all with the goal of securing a buyer who will help RACER fulfill its mission to bring jobs, new tax base and other beneficial outcomes to Massena and the North Country.”
“I appreciate RACER’s consistent and proactive efforts on behalf of our community, and I look forward to the development that will surely be generated from this initiative,” Massena Town Supervisor Steven D. O’Shaughnessy said. “The RACER Trust property holds many advantages for a variety of industries. Among these benefits are access to the St. Lawrence River and the international border crossing with Canada, the availability of low-cost electricity from the Moses-Saunders Power Dam and a community of trainable, hard-working people who appreciate the potential for new jobs and investment that the RACER Massena property represents.”
RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. RACER is one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and, at the time of its establishment, was the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history.
When the Trust was formed, it owned properties at 89 locations in 14 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the 14 states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining the Massena property in Upstate New York.
RACER is requesting that offers be submitted by Friday, April 20, 2018.
View full info on RACER’s solicitation for the Massena property.