Local leaders celebrated “another chapter” for the former We Energies power plant site Thursday as ground was broken for a 594,000-square-foot WestRock plant.
The facility is projected to be one of three future buildings at the LogistiCenter, the village’s newest corporate park.
Village President John Steinbrink reflected Thursday on the history of the site and surrounding area, and what the new industrial buildings mean for Pleasant Prairie.
“For nearly 75 years I’ve watched this property develop,” Steinbrink said. “This was basically a farming community: Dairy, then grain.”
At one point, the area was even considered to become a landfill, but “thankfully” that didn’t happen, Steinbrink said.
Two years after the power plant came down, new buildings are going up.
“Today we’re here to break ground on another chapter, and another transformation,” Steinbrink said. “WestRock is the corrugated posterboard child of our goals in Pleasant Prairie.”
David Sewell, CEO of WestRock, described the future facility as a “super plant,” a significant investment into the region.
“Why invest in a state-of-the-art facility?” Sewell said. “It’s a vital part of our business, and the Midwest region is a huge piece of what we do around the world.”
He praised the collaboration between local organizations and leaders to make the area particularly attractive.
“You should be very proud with how you collaborated for us to choose this site,” Sewell said.
Read more at the Kenosha News.