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Philip Morris Plant To Be Torn Down To 'Create Clean Canvas' For Development

The old Philip Morris cigarette plant, covering 500 acres of the 2,000 acre site. The plant was torn down in 2019.
Jones Lang Lasalle Inc.
The old Philip Morris cigarette plant covers 500 acres of the 2,000 acre site. It will be torn down starting within a month.

The owners of the former Philip Morris plant in Concord have decided to demolish the old plant in hopes of attracting developers to the 2,000-acre site. 

Bootsmead LeaseCo said Wednesday it expects to begin tearing down the 500-acre complex off U.S. 29 in the next 30 days.

Cigarette maker  Philip Morris operated the Concord plant from 1982 to 2009, when it closed and laid off about 2,500 employees.

Industrial battery maker Alevo took it over in 2014 but went out of business in 2017.

The site is now being marketed as The Grounds at Concord. Over the past couple of years, it has been mentioned as a possible site for an automobile plant or other large industrial facility.

The owners and local officials say they've decided to tear down the building now to "create a clean canvas" for potential users.  

Demolition is expected to begin within 30 days and take the rest of the year.

David Boraks previously covered climate change and the environment for WFAE. See more at www.wfae.org/climate-news. He also has covered housing and homelessness, energy and the environment, transportation and business.