In February 2006, P. H. Glatfelter Co. (Glatfelter), one of the largest employers in the City, announced the closure of its paper mill and the loss of 220 high paying primarily blue-collar jobs. The mill had operated for more than 100 years on a 7-acre site immediately adjacent to downtown Neenah. Any possible reuse of the massive and outdated industrial complex was unlikely to occur, and as a consequence, the buildings could have resulted in a significant blighting influence on the downtown and adjacent waterfront area for years. The City and the Community Development Authority (CDA) recognized the potential opportunity for redevelopment that the mill closure represented and quickly acted to acquire the property. Adjoining the mill site was a 7.65-acre former paper sludge landfill that was leased by Glatfelter from the City for use as a wastewater treatment plant. These two properties in combination with a blighted rail spur property and a fourth blighted property adjacent to the mill site, form a combined 16 acres of blighted land that was the focus for the brownfields redevelopment project that is the subject of this award nomination.