Demolition of the former General Chemical plant in Manistee, MI is about a month away from completion, but the future of the property still hangs in limbo.

Ed Seng, owner of Seng Dock and Trucking, said he believes the demolition crew wants to finish by July 1. About three buyers, including Seng, are interested in the property, he said.

“I know who is, and I am also interested,” Seng said.

In December 2002, General Chemical closed the calcium chloride plant after owning it for less than two years. Forty employees lost their jobs; two remained at the plant for the last year, when the location was used to ship raw product to another factory in Canada.

Now, piles of rubble remain where the 110-year-old plant used to stand. The site has been used for an industrial purpose since 1870, said Steve Harold, director of the Manistee County Historical Museum. First it was a sawmill, then a tannery before Hardy Salt used the plant.

For most of its history, it was a salt plant under the ownership of Hardy Salt, Diamond Crystal Salt and Akzo Salt. Since 1996, the plant has produced calcium chloride, first for Ambar and most recently General Chemical.

Harold said the 150-year industrial history of the Manistee and Ludington area has faded significantly as other plants have abandoned the area. The property is still an asset, he said, but there is not the same demand as companies move work overseas.

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