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No interest seen during mill auction
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| By: ADAM NORTHAM, DAILY LEADER Staff Writer |
October 27, 2009 |
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The future of Columbus Lumber Co. remains unsettled after a Monday morning auction of the Brookhaven industry in Chicago went unattended.
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"Basically, nobody showed any interest," said Paige Barr, an associate with Katten Muchin Rosenmann LLP, the law firm handling the sale of the sawmill. "The receiver is working to try to market and sell the property, so that process is moving forward. There will be further opportunities."
Columbus Lumber Co. co-owner Doug Boykin declined to comment on the auction. Co-owner Jeff Grierson could not be reached for comment.
Both sawmill owners said last week the auction was only the first step in a process to restart the mill under new ownership, and both doubted Monday's event would result in a sale. They said the auction was basically held to gauge interest in the property.
It is unclear how the lack of interest displayed Monday will affect the process in the future.
Columbus Lumber Co. closed down and released more than 100 employees on Sept. 24 after its creditor, Bank of America, ordered all operations halted.
The sawmill suffered during the economic recession, which began with a plummeting housing market and has resulted in historically low lumber prices. Several adjustments to the company's work schedule, markets and products were unsuccessful in keeping the mill financially viable through the almost two-year downturn.
Since the mill closed, both Boykin and Grierson have been negotiating with Bank of America to find a solution to reopening the mill and restoring its many jobs. The hope is that the mill will be sold intact to a new owner rather than being stripped down and sold piece-by-piece.
"What we hope to have at the end of that process is someone to step forward with a final proposal that suits the bank," Grierson said last week.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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