The Spaulding Fibre site in the City of Tonawanda has been deserted since 1992. Cleanup has been slow, but events last week have pushed the remediation process along. Click on photo for larger image

Council takes steps to fix up deserted Spaulding Fibre site
By Eric O Connor
Monday, September 27, 2026

For 12 years, its long, brick smokestack has puffed nothing but hot air.

The former Spaulding Fibre site, a 660,000-square-foot deserted industrial compound on the southern tip of the City of Tonawanda, is in desperate need of remediation.

The city knows it; Rita Zirnheld knows it.

Zirnheld, an Enterprise Avenue resident who has lived in the shadow of the site for 27 years, has had a front row seat to the decline of the once prodigious plant.

“Now there are turkey vultures, hawks, deer, snakes and groundhogs,” said Zirnheld, “and there’s always police cars and fire trucks going in there.”

Mayor Jack Gallagher said he is serious about cleaning up the site soon.

“We’re looking at a very aggressive plan in a four or five-year period,” said Gallagher. “We’re moving to get this done right.”

In addition to creating a steering committee earlier this year, some first steps were accomplished last Tuesday at the Common Council meeting.

First, the site was officially designated a blighted site, which makes it eligible for block grant funds.

Second, the council authorized the mayor to take “all steps he deems necessary and appropriate to insure the health, safety and welfare of the residents.”

Lastly, the council approved $20,000 to design a plan for asbestos removal and demolition. The total cost of the evaluation is $100,000, with Erie County pitching in $80,000.

“This money will really get the ball rolling,” said Gallagher.

While this money will not be used to actually clean anything up, it is essential in drawing up a plan for above-ground remediation. A plan already is in place for in-ground remediation, with the bill totaling almost $3 million.

Bob Dimmig, executive director of the Town of Tonawanda Development Corp., which is helping to advise the city, said plans for the site are progressing nicely.

“The city has the right people at the table,” said Dimmig.

Dimmig compared the Spaulding Fibre site to an eyesore the Town dealt with for many years, the grain mills on Military Road. The mills were also designated a blighted site.

Dimmig said a combination of many things coming together at the right time that allowed the mills to be demolished after 20 years of public complaints.

“A lot of it depends on not luck, but just events,” said Dimmig, “it just has to come together.”

Dimmig said he hopes the same good fortune happens for city residents.

“Hopefully as the plans are being developed, we’ll start identifying a developer that steps in much quicker, especially with the designation of the Empire Zone,” said Dimmig.

When a site is designated an Empire Zone, it allows an incoming company to enjoy generous tax benefits.

Zirnheld hopes the site is refurbished as soon as possible. She said property values will go up and the aesthetic value of her neighborhood will exponentially increase .

“From all these back yards here, all you see is this big, ugly thing,” said Zirnheld.

What fruit the site will bare is still unclear, but Gallagher said he wants to attract commercial, not residential, developers.

Dimmig said it is hard to put specific timetable on upcoming events, but stressed the importance of having the right people on the job.

“It’s hard to say one year, five years, 10 years, but the right team is in place to get the job done,” said Dimmig.
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