Lionite says it was sold to nonprofit

PHILLIPS A former wood products mill in Phillips is reportedly under new ownership, according to a March 25 press release.

Phillips Lionite Wood Products Co. LLC, a private investors group that has owned the former factory at 115 Depot Road since 2016, said it has transitioned ownership to a Phillips based nonprofit group, Price County United Limited (PCUL). The Lionite group is now a tenant to Price County United Limited, according to the press release.

“We are happy to sell to PCUL and are assured they will do justice for the site,” said Sanjay Patel, the primary investor of Phillips Lionite, which took ownership of the 65-year-old factory in 2016, after the previous owner Georgia-Pacific, closed the plant in 2015.

Lynda Ludwig, president of Price County United Limited, said in the press release that the facility and location will be a vital component to future sustainable development of the city. The Lionite factory is on the shore of Duroy lake and sits behind main street businesses and across from Elk Lake Park on County H.

“We are working on revitalizing this property into a more vibrant part of the community,” Ludwig said. “There are transitional plans in the works and will share them with the community when the time is appropriate.”

The conditions of the sale were not released. The last public action of the investors was to pay some of the property taxes owed to Price County.

The Lionite property was valued at $2,147,500, according to the tax levy information discussed by the Price County Board of Supervisors in October 2023. The annual net tax of the property is $71,982 — making it number eight on the top 10 taxed property owners in the county in 2022.

Just what this sale will mean for the county under nonprofit ownership is not yet known, said Price County Administrator Nick Trimner, who was not yet aware of the sale as of Monday, as it was not yet recorded with the Price County Register of Deeds.

Without the transfer it is not possible to know the details of the sale, he said.

Ludwig said on Monday morning that her title company reported there was an administrative delay in the transition being recorded.

The city of Phillips issued a raze order to enforce cleanup of a Lionite storage building that collapsed on April 5, 2023.

Bryce Schoenborn, the city of Phillips contracted attorney who filed the petition for court ordered enforcement of the raze order, said he could not comment on the ownership transition but did say that Bennish Scrap & Transport, LLC, of Merrill, had started cleanup of the collapsed area around March 23.

Ludwig encourages the community to voice their recommendation for redevelopment through the organization’s survey platform and by attending community forums. Price County United will host its next community meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 3, at the Phillips Public Library to discuss the future use and revitalization of the former Lionite mill and the Community Change Grant to seek community input and perspectives on existing and potential projects including the future use and revitalization of the former Lionite mill and the Community Change Grant to seek community input and perspectives on potential projects.

The Community Change Grant application with the Environmental Protection Agency from which up to $20 million could be made available for targeted projects around the city of Phillips.

The projects are part of the Price County United mission to work for the preservation of historic culture and buildings, to support public recreation trails, work to remediate and revitalize brownfield sites, and other projects that work at avoiding community deterioration, according to Ludwig.

Due to the news of the Lionite sale the meeting venue may change to a larger venue, she said. Visit the Phillips Public Library website for updates.

Price County United also welcomes public input through an online survey at surveylegend.com/s/5idp, or through the link or QR code on pricecountyunited.org.

Price County United Limited formed as a nonprofit organization in 2022 as a means to engage the community in identifying needs and to acquire resources for programming and community and economic development to provide a guiding vision for the future. The collaboration of communities and resources will guide development with the goal of a “vibrant, thriving, sustainable community and continued economic prosperity,” according to their website.