Domtar to Sell Former Mill Sites in Ottawa, Gatineau to Windmill Development Group

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Domtar Corp., Montreal, Que., Canada, has agreed to sell its former Domtar paper mill sites in Ottawa, Ont., and Gatineau, Que., Canada to Ottawa-based developer Windmill Development Group Ltd. The Agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and may take until the first quarter of 2015 to complete. The proposed transaction comprises approximately 14 hectares of waterfront lands in downtown Gatineau as well as the Chaudière and Albert Islands in Ottawa.

"Ezra Butler Eddy started manufacturing match sticks on part of this property back in 1851, then later acquired the competing JR Booth paper mill on the Ottawa side of the river. Over the years the logging and pulp and papermaking activities at this site grew to the point that it was, by the mid-20th century, one of Canada's most significant industrial engines," noted Stewart Marcoux , VP of asset redeployment for Domtar. "Windmill's team and track record in successfully revitalizing former industrial and brownfield properties is impressive, and we are confident that they will be able to successfully re-develop this prime property at the very heart of the National Capital Region."

Domtar acquired the former E.B. Eddy mills in Ottawa and Gatineau in 1998 and, due to declining market demand for paper, announced the permanent closure of the Ottawa mill in 2005 and then the Gatineau mill in 2007. The site's hydro-electric assets were sold in 2012 to Energy Ottawa Inc.'s affiliate, Chaudière Hydro L.P., the same year the site's last paper machine was dismantled. Domtar has been actively looking for a suitable buyer for the property since 2008, in recognition of the site's rich past and future potential.

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