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The city of peabody is seeking the services of a qualified firm to develop a comprehensive site re-use plan and development strategy Relating to the closing of the rousselot peabody inc. Manufacturing facility and campus.
Rousselot Peabody Inc., a materials processing manufacturing business notified the City of their plan to cease operations, effective December 2023. Rousselot produced collagen-based manufactured goods, most notably high-quality gelatin for biomedical uses. Rousselot Peabody Inc. is presently owned by parent company Darling Ingredient, with headquarters in Irving, Texas.
The manufacturing campus has been in use as an industrial manufacturing site on a nearly Continuous basis since being founded as a glue-making factory in 1817. Prior to being acquired by Rousselot, the plant for many years was home to Eastman Gelatin, a division of Eastman Kodak, producing high-quality photographic and imaging film stock. The main manufacturing campus has 550,000 (+\-) square feet of built-out manufacturing facilities, office space, and auxiliary buildings used in manufacturing/operating and logistics. The Washington Street campus is located within an Environmental Justice Neighborhood as designated by the US EPA.
The main campus facilities are along banks of Goldthwait Brook, which meanders through the central campus and connects to the North River in downtown Peabody. The main campus parcel is bisected by a train line operated by CSX freight railroad, connecting at a grade crossing in Peabody Square to a junction further east at Salem Depot (which is also a MBTA Commuter rail stop). In 2023, after over 160 years of service, weekly freight deliveries of bulk raw materials to the Rousselot site were disciplined.
The City seeks to create a plan that establishes a framework for future decision-making concerning use of the Rousselot site, based on agreement on shared goals for the future uses of the property. The City does not wish the Rousselot campus to become vacant and abandoned, and envisions this parcel as a economic generator for the City. This re-use plan will be established through robust community and stakeholder engagement.
Qualified firms that can meet minimum criteria, are encouraged to reach out to Daniel Doucette (Purchasing Agent) in the Purchasing Department for more information on the RFI process.