Former Maine paper mill to become data center, but rural community doubts job promises
By
Abigail Bassett
Sesame, salt, and substance. A flagship bake.
Summary
A former paper mill in Jay, Maine, that closed in 2020 after an explosion is being redeveloped into a massive data center. The project, led by developer Tony McDonald, involves cleaning up the industrial site and repurposing it for data center use. However, the rural community is skeptical about whether the promised jobs will materialize, as data centers typically require far fewer workers than the paper mill once employed.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledAt its peak, the Androscoggin paper mill in Jay, Maine, a rural town about 67 miles northwest of Portland, employed about 1,500 people — until a pulp digester exploded in 2020, forcing the mill to close permanently.
Over the next three years, McDonald and his team broke down the mill's machinery and shipped it to Pakistan, and worked to clean up the industrial site for resale.
But the rural community isn't convinced the jobs will follow.
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