Joint venture partners Hilco SP LLC and Environmental Liability Transfer Inc. (ELT), an affiliate of Commercial Development Company, Inc. (CDC), announced the completion of their purchase of the former RG Steel Mill at Sparrows Point, located in Baltimore County, MD.

The mill at Sparrows Point was idled shortly after RG Steel filed for bankruptcy in May 2012. Hilco and ELT successfully bid for the property at a public auction, which began on August 7, 2012. On August 15, the sale was approved in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, DE.

Gary Epstein and Randall Jostes, spokespersons for the joint venture, agreed, “At this time, we are evaluating all of our options for the property, which include seeking operators for the mill in its entirety or some of the manufacturing facilities and operations within the 3400 acre site. We are also considering removal and resale of industrial equipment and structural demolition followed by environmental remediation of the site as a precursor to redevelopment.”

Prior to the joint venture’s acquisition, Sparrows Point was RG Steel’s largest integrated steel production facility. Sparrows Point demonstrated an annual capacity of 3.6 million tons of crude steel, 2.9 million tons of hot rolled, 1.3 million tons of cold rolled, 480 thousand tons of coated and 470,000 tons of tin. It is the only fully integrated mill on the East Coast of the United States of America capable of producing flat rolled steel.

Epstein and Jostes added, “The evaluation process is expected to take several weeks given the size and scope of the entire operation at Sparrows Point. Based on our early assessment, we believe the state of the art cold rolled mill complex with tri-modal transportation capabilities including rare access to a deep water port has great potential for the right operator.”

Sparrows Point is located in a strategically important position on Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of Baltimore Harbor. The facility includes its own port with access to the Atlantic Ocean and the capability to dock deep-water vessels. The mill also has its own short-line railroad that connects to both the CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads.

Within the joint venture, ELT purchased the 3,400 acre Sparrows point site along with certain reusable buildings. It has also assumed specified environmental liabilities associated with the land. Hilco purchased the above grade improvements and machinery and equipment.

Environmental Liability Transfer is a member of the Commercial Development Company, Inc. (CDC) family of businesses. CDC is a North American real estate development firm specializing in the development, acquisition and redevelopment of major North American commercial and industrial sites.

Previously on abfjournal.com:

RG Steel Bankruptcy Judge Approves Sale of Assets in OH, MD, Tuesday, August 21, 2012