Old Mill demolition request
The owner of the Old Mill, the ruined historic paper mill in Cottonwood Heights, applied in the summer of 2025 for a conditional use permit to demolish it. Because it is a designated historic structure the request gets extra review, and state law bars the Planning Commission from deciding until a year after the Jan. 21, 2026 public hearing. The city hired Dunn Associates in the spring to study the structure, and its consultants presented three paths on Oct. 7: brace the ruin in place for $7.5 million to $8.3 million, which would give no public use or rental income; repair and restore it for $42.8 million; or rebuild it in its historic form with the granite as veneer for $46.3 million. They found the roof largely collapsed and the tall, thin walls poorly anchored, and half the structure lies in a mapped fault study zone. They did not study housing. The owner has also submitted a business review of the building's history and past ventures, and several residents spoke or wrote in favor of saving it. The commission took no vote on Oct. 7; the next hearing is expected in January or February 2027, and if the commission acts the owner would then need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the City Council. The minutes are still in draft.
- Where it stands
- In review
- Type
- Site plan
- Status evidence date
- Wed, Oct 7
- Location
- The Old Mill (historic paper mill), Cottonwood Heights
- Applicant
- Property owner
Updates
October 7, 2026
Consultants presented stabilization, restoration and rebuild options costing $7.5 million to $46.3 million. No vote was taken (draft minutes). Source
January 21, 2026
First public hearing on the demolition permit. The commission may not decide until one year after it. Source
Follow the money and project delivery
Old Mill demolition request
- Council action
In review according to the dated project source. Record → · Oct. 7, 2026
- Money in the record
contract: amount not given — Structural analysis of the Old Mill and cost estimates, hired by the city in spring 2026 Record → · Oct. 7, 2026
- Signed agreement and payments
Execution and project-level disbursements are not verified by this tracker. They require separate records; meeting approval alone does not establish either.
- Work and operating costs
Check the linked records for completion and recurring operating costs; this tracker does not verify them. Record →
Every hearing and vote
October 7, 2026 · Planning Commission
Old Mill demolition request (CUP-25-005): structural analysis
Discussed
The commission heard a consultant's structural study of the Old Mill, a designated historic structure whose owner has applied to demolish it. The study estimated $7.5 million to $8.3 million to stabilize the ruin in place, $42.8 million to repair and restore it and $46.3 million to rebuild it in its historic form. The commission took no vote. State law bars a decision until January 2027, and staff said the next public hearing will be in January or February 2027. If the commission acts, the owner would then apply to the City Council for a Certificate of Appropriateness.
- Presenters: Tyler Wright of Dunn Associates and Sean Flynn of Aegis Consulting
- Findings: the roof has largely collapsed; the walls are tall and slender; anchorage and vertical support are inadequate; the foundation type is unverified and is more likely stone than concrete
- Option 1, stabilize in place with steel bracing: $7.5 million to $8.3 million, no public use or rental income
- Option 2, repair and restore: $42.8 million
- Option 3, rebuild in historic form using the granite as veneer: $46.3 million
- Restoring only the structure as dining or event space would lose about $11 million for the owner; as part of a master development, about $6 million after about $5 million in income; breaking even would need costs near $42 million and lease rates of $38 per square foot
- Half the structure is in a special study zone for a mapped fault; the site is in the Sensitive Lands Overlay and would need a geotechnical hazards study before development
- The consultants did not study residential uses. Community and Economic Development Director Jim Spung said no one has offered to fund preservation and that grants may exist
- The January 21, 2026 public hearing was the first; the commission may not decide until one year after it