SAVANNAH ― Locals long referred to the stinky, sulfuric odor emanating from the sprawling paper mill along the Savannah River as “the smell of money.”
The stench, a byproduct of papermaking, eased years ago with the installation of air-scrubbing equipment and went away completely in September when International Paper closed the mill after 90 years of operation.
Now, the site has the odorless smell of opportunity.
The world’s largest packaging manufacturer has formally listed for sale the 400-acre mill property, in addition to another 335 acres across the Savannah River on its north bank. According to a timeline included with the property sales materials made public Thursday, International Paper has set an offer deadline of late September or early October, reflecting the familiarity potential buyers have with the site.
“It’s high-profile, and end users have been reaching out to International Paper about it pretty much since the day the shutdown was announced,” said Stephen Ezelle, the Savannah-based real estate pro marketing the property on behalf of International Paper. “If these first few days are any indication, interest is strong.”
The site is “like few others along the East Coast,” said Trip Tollison of the Savannah Economic Development Authority. The mill property alone has 2,500 feet of river frontage, 20 miles of on-site rail infrastructure, access to I-516 just beyond its gates and 400 acres of land — so much space that the mill operator built a nine-hole golf course, known as Mary Calder, for employee recreation on part of the property in 1937.
“Deep-water frontage is a rare find,” Tollison said. “We are very excited to see that International Paper is ready to roll with the future of the site and that they are getting it to market quicker than many thought.”
Credit: Sarah Peacock
Credit: Sarah Peacock
International Paper has moved swiftly since announcing the closure Aug. 21. Within weeks, the company shifted its Savannah production of cardboard packaging material to a mill in Alabama. International Paper CEO Andy Silvernail told investors at a September conference the Savannah mill would have needed $300 million in upgrades to remain in operation, more than the cost of expanding capacity at the Alabama mill.
By Sept. 30, International Paper had shuttered the plant and a neighboring box assembly center. Together, the two facilities employed 800 workers and fueled the region’s timber industry, affecting hundreds more landowners, foresters, loggers, truck drivers, diesel mechanics, tire repairers and ancillary service providers.
The paper company has spent the months since the closure decommissioning the site, including disassembly of equipment. However, rather than demolish the buildings, clear the property and conduct environmental assessments and potentially remediation on a facility in use since 1936, International Paper is offering it in its current condition to preserve “flexibility for future redevelopment.”
Yet the approach doesn’t mean the owner is opposed to doing additional site prep, Ezelle said. He expects a mix of “as is” bids as well as those contingent on International Paper improving the site. The offers will provide International Paper a range of price points and a firm idea of the property’s value.
“IP and its board are asking, ‘Is it better for us in terms of what we can get for the property to sell it today? Or is it better to tear it down, get a fresh site two years from now and then sell it for two or three times the price?’” said Ezelle, whose firm, Gilbert & Ezelle, is part of the Cushman & Wakefield Alliance.
Credit: Sarah Peacock
Credit: Sarah Peacock
International Paper’s sales push has led to speculation that one of its high-profile neighbors along the waterfront is eager to acquire the property. Colonial Oil operates a petroleum depot east of the mill site, while the Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City Terminal, the third-busiest cargo container port in the U.S., lies to the west.
The ports authority also owns property near International Paper’s acreage on the Savannah River’s north bank, with plans to build a new cargo terminal there later this decade. The paper company’s north bank river frontage measures 7,100 feet.
Ports Authority CEO Griff Lynch acknowledged Tuesday that deep-water frontage is in “limited supply” and that the authority is “looking at” the site now that it has been listed for sale.
“We have made no firm decision on how to approach it because we don’t know what the value is at this point,” Lynch said. “Look, we’re in the business of land on the water, so we’re going to take it seriously.”
Family-owned Colonial Oil, in business since 1921, issued a statement Wednesday indicating it too would conduct due diligence.
“As a longtime neighbor of International Paper, Colonial’s interest is in seeing the site redeveloped into a productive industrial use that helps restore the economic value and opportunity Savannah lost when the mill closed,” the statement read. “Whether through our direct involvement or in support of others, we want to see the site’s next chapter benefit the surrounding community for the long term.”
Expanding existing port or depot facilities is but one option for the International Paper property. The paper mill acreage is nearly twice that of another ready-for-redevelopment site along the Savannah River, SeaPoint. The owner of that property has explored building a private port terminal and has also marketed it to manufacturers in need of waterfront.
The International Paper site is large enough to accommodate a manufacturer or multitenant industrial park. Shipbuilding is another potential use — both the U.S. Navy and the commercial sector have expressed interest in adding to their fleets with ships built domestically.
A dearth of U.S. shipyards prompted Congress last year to craft the SHIPS for America Act, which includes $20 billion to support shipyards and a series of new federal grant programs. The bill has since been incorporated into the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act, which is now awaiting Senate passage.
A riverfront property similar in size to Savannah’s paper mill site — Bushy Park near Charleston, South Carolina — is a potential model. Long home to a chemical manufacturing plant, Bushy Park now has three tenants: two related to shipbuilding and another that manufactures implantable medical devices.
The marketing approach for the Savannah site is that of a “blank canvas,” Ezelle said.
“From an economic development perspective, we want to see the greatest economic benefit for the community — the best paying jobs on one heckuva site,” Tollison said.
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