The sign is up, but the former site of General Chemical in Amherstburg isn't quite ready for sale yet.
Mayor Aldo DiCarlo says the land is clean, but there's still the old soda ash settling ponds to cap and planting to do. That could be done in 2017.
"They also need the Ministry [of the Environment's] approval," he says. "They're probably erring on the cautious side because they want to make sure there's a few months built in."
He admits the cleanup may not be going as quickly as some would like, but says considering the state of the land before the cleanup; it's come a long way. The effort has cost the ministry $20-million.
Production began on the site in 1900 and by 1948, the plant employed 1,000 people as demand for soda ash increased worldwide. It closed in 2005, putting more than 400 people out of work.
DiCarlo hopes the next owner will bring with them new jobs for his town.
"Repurposing it as an industrial property that could provide jobs to the town again, would be incredible, for any municipality," says DiCarlo. "You know, we face the same challenges as any municipality trying to get industry back."
Only 100 acres of the 176 acres on the site will go up for sale when the ministry signs off on the cleanup. Multiple owners own the rest.