Big Plans for Caterpillar Foundry

By PAUL GORDON of The Journal Star

MAPLETON - Shuttered since 1982, the massive factory that once served as Caterpillar Inc.'s foundry in Mapleton soon will be given new life.

Caterpillar and the Heart of Illinois Regional Port District have reached an agreement through which the 1.2 million-square-foot plant that is within a few hundred yards of the Illinois River will be sold to the port district, also known as TransPORT.

TransPORT, with financial help from Caterpillar and the state of Illinois, will begin rehabilitation of the structure and find companies to occupy it, probably in stages, said Dan Silverthorn, chairman of the port district board.

A news conference is scheduled this afternoon at One Technology Plaza in Peoria to finalize the memorandum of understanding between Caterpillar and TransPORT. On hand will be officials from both of those organizations, as well as state dignitaries.

"Our goal is to create jobs within the port district, and we believe this will help us do that in that we'll be able to present property where businesses can locate with ready access to the river, a rail line and a four-lane highway," Silverthorn said Wednesday after confirming the deal with Caterpillar.

"This works well for us, but also Caterpillar wants to get the building back into some use. They want to make this work as much as we do," he said.

Under the agreement, TransPORT will buy the building in increments, as redevelopment deals are made. In the meantime, Caterpillar will partner with TransPORT on redeveloping the building and the surrounding 86 acres of land.

Silverthorn declined to give a total purchase amount at this time, but said it was a "reasonable deal" that was negotiated.

In addition, Caterpillar will pay $300,000 toward rehabilitation costs.

Another $250,000 for rehabilitation costs will come through a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

Rehabilitation costs, Silverthorn said, will depend on the needs of the companies that locate there.

"Obviously, it will depend on what deal we make. If a company needs a lot of work done to get their space ready for manufacturing, for example, it will cost more than an area that will be storage.

"What is important to us is that it be a good enough deal to make it worth what we put into it, which means a deal that will create jobs," he said. "We believe we can create 150 to 250 or more jobs here."

Silverthorn said TransPORT is working with two or three potential customers, but he declined to identify them.

The land and building are zoned for manufacturing, and TransPORT is doing engineering studies on putting docking facilities on the nearby riverfront, which Silverthorn said "is about two football fields from the plant."

The port district, which oversees commercial development along the riverfront, covers 100 miles of the Illinois River from Marshall County to Mason County. Silverthorn said TransPORT is working on projects in other parts of the district, but they are not connected to this deal or its funding. "This is a stand-alone project," he said.

The former foundry, large enough to fit 10 Super Wal-Mart stores inside it, was built in the 1960s and opened in 1967. But foundry processes changed for Caterpillar, and the company closed the plant in 1982. Silverthorn said the plant is structurally sound.

Caterpillar still operates a nearby foundry in Mapleton.

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