BREWER – Nearly four months ago, South Brewer Redevelopment was formed by the city of Brewer to take on the responsibility of owning and redeveloping the now defunct Eastern Fine Paper Mill. After environmental remediation, engineering evaluations and meetings with interested developers, the agency is prepared to initiate the first step of the public planning process for the site’s eventual reuse.

During the week of Oct. 25, SBR will hold a series of tours of the Eastern Fine Paper facility for the general public, in hopes of demonstrating the opportunities and challenges associated with the property so that preferred options for the site’s future use may be identified.

“Because of its size and composition, you can’t understand the potential of a site like Eastern without first seeing it for yourself,” said Drew Sachs, managing director of SBR and director of economic development for Brewer.

Tours of approximately 15 people each will be offered according to the following schedule:

. 7 a.m., 7:15 a.m., noon and 12:15 p.m. Monday-Friday, Oct. 25-29.

. 5 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, and Thursday, Oct. 28.

. 9 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30.

Tours will leave promptly and are expected to last approximately one hour and 15 minutes.

To participate in the tours, members of the public must preregister for specific tour times by calling Pat Gero at 989-7500.

Tour reservations will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Those participating in the tours should be prepared to sign a liability waiver, wear comfortable shoes and be physically capable of climbing multiple staircases and walking for lengthy periods through the facility.

After the tours, SBR will hold a community “visioning” session in November. The date has not yet been determined. The session will allow the public to learn more about Eastern site conditions and express their ideas about the appropriate re-use of the property. Suggestions obtained from the public will be provided to developers interested in redeveloping the mill site, and efforts will be made to encourage potential developers to incorporate ideas from the session into their planning.

“It’s important that this mill redevelopment effort fit in with what the people of Brewer and the region want to see,” said Manley DeBeck, deputy mayor in Brewer.