BANGOR DAILY NEWS • February 23, 2026
A bill facing the Maine Legislature would see more than 3,300 acres in East Millinocket put up for sale or lease. The state acquired the land in 2011 after Katahdin Paper Co. declared bankruptcy, but is now looking to sell or lease it. Through an agreement made during the purchase of the mill site, East Millinocket would receive 150 acres for free, but any additional land would have to be bought at market value. This opportunity comes while East Millinocket officials are attempting to revitalize the town more than a decade after the Great Northern Paper Co. mill shut down. The roughly 300-acre site, which shuttered in 2014 and was later bought by the town, has received multiple grants and possible reuse prospects in the five years the town has owned it, including a $300 million data center, but no large developments have materialized yet.