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News Specialist Keith McCord reportingIt's hard to imagine Utah County without the Geneva Steel plant, but there's an offer on the table to buy the site, clean it up, and give the area a whole new look.
The announcement was made this morning in Provo. It's not a done deal by any means.
The interested buyer is a group called BlueLynx Consortium. It's a group of local, national and international businesses and companies that are willing to put up the funds to buy the entire 1780 acres.
BlueLynx's vision is quite a change from what the area looks like right now. Down the road, possibly 15 or 20 years away or even longer, the site might include a research and development park; a combination of business, commercial, residential and recreation areas -- a bit of everything.
Right now, Geneva Steel is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which means it can be re-organized in order to be sold or to re-open again.
The plant has been around since 1944 and had as many as 8,000 employees. Today, there's a skeleton staff of about 25.
BlueLynx did make a formal offer to company officials last night, seeking the entire property.
"Thus it is the goal of BlueLynx to purchase and dismantle the steel plant, remediate the site and replace Geneva with a facility that is aesthetically attractive, creates clean, high-desirable employment, attracts new businesses to Utah Valley and turns what has been one of Utah's least-attractive pieces of property into one of the most attractive pieces of property," says spokesman Gregory Soter.
How much is the deal worth? No one will give a precise figure, but "tens-of-millions" of dollars was tossed around today.
Geneva Steel's response? It says it will examine the offer. The company said there are several entities that have expressed interest in the property. It will examine all offers and make a decision that's best for the company's shareholders and stockholders.
