KINGS MILL — Apartments, a banquet hall and more are coming to a landmark Warren County factory.
Peters Cartridge Company, a pre-World War II powerhouse manufacturer, will find new life as apartments, an event space, a coffee shop and a brew pub as soon as May 2020.
RELATED: Peters Cartridge Factory renovation project clears another hurdle
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and local officials chose Peters Cartridge for the redevelopment to celebrate 20 years of returning contaminated lands to productive properties for community use through superfund redevelopment.
“This is what superfund redevelopment is all about,” said EPA Regional Director Cathy Stepp. “It's about taking something that once had a very special place in the community and to be able to turn that into something new with community involvement and still be respectful of the history.”
Developers plan to preserve the building’s facade as workers transform the 31,000-square-foot space.
Cleaning up superfund sites of this size typically takes 15 years.
Stepp said this site took only seven, thanks to community involvement and the different levels of government that got involved quickly.
Warren County agreed to reduce tap fees for developers, which spurred private investments.
With added historic tax credits, the project has no direct cost to county taxpayers.
It’s an attraction County Commissioner Dave Young hopes will bring a “whole new demographic” to the community.
“This is going to be all about young millennials (and) young professionals,” he said. “Whether you are kayaking or canoeing, bike riding, whatever it might be. This is going to be a really cool local gem to draw people to the area.”
