A building associated with the former Penobscot McCrum potato processing facility in Belfast is now being torn down after a fire destroyed the main section of the plant two years ago.
The demolition could help the company to sell its prime waterfront real estate in Belfast, although it did not respond to a request for comment about its plans. Last year, it announced that it no longer would process potatoes in Belfast and would instead expand its main facility in the Aroostook County town of Washburn.
The main section of Penobscot McCrum’s Belfast facility was demolished after the March 2022 blaze. The one remaining building, which is about half mile to the southeast on Front Street, had functioned as an industrial freezer, and Belfast Mayor Eric Sanders said that it’s probably being torn down now because it’s obsolete.
“I’m speculating here, but it’s a pretty good speculation, that without a potato plant in town, there was no need for the freezer plant,” Sanders said.
Sanders said he hasn’t heard if Penobscot McCrum is planning to sell or redevelop any of its Belfast property. Both parcels are near the city’s harbor.
Several municipal boards and committees would have to approve any new uses of that land, which is in the city’s Waterfront Mixed Use zoning district.
The 2022 fire brought an end to the era of waterfront factories for which Belfast was once well-known. Before it was destroyed, about 138 people worked at the factory, which processed potatoes into baked and mashed products as well as wedges and skins.
