BIDDEFORD — The downtown site of the city’s former waste incinerator is now a blank slate, and city officials say they are excited about the possibilities of new businesses that can locate there, which they believe will help move the city forward.

Approximately one year ago, the city purchased the Maine Energy Recovery Company facility from its parent company, Casella Waste Systems, for $6.5 million.

The 27-year-old incinerator closed at the end of 2013, and demolition of the buildings on the site was recently completed.

Only the steamstack remains to accommodate cellular companies, which have contracted to locate their equipment on the stack. Payment from these companies is being used to fund part of the purchase of Maine Energy.

While the demolition is complete, there is still more work to be done at the site, said Environmental Code Officer Brian Phinney. He said environmental remediation of dioxins and PCPs found on the site must take place.

While the dioxin cleanup is under way, said Phinney, the Department of Environmental Protection has yet to approve the cleanup plan for the PCPs. Although Maine Energy did not produce the PCPs, Phinney said the company is responsible for the remediation of both materials.

The majority of the site will be cleaned to a residential level and a small area will be cleaned to park standards, he said.

After the cleanup takes place, said Phinney, the city will confirm that the remediation is complete, and the site will be backfilled and reseeded. The entire process is expected to be finished early next year, he said.

While this process is taking place, Economic Development Director Daniel Stevenson is in the process of creating a request for proposals to entertain ideas for the site from developers and investors.

City Manager John Bubier said he and Stevenson have already “talked to a couple of people” who are interested in developing the site.

With the residential units that already exist and new units in the works, Bubier said he envisions the mill district and downtown as a self-contained area, where people could live, work, go to restaurants, find entertainment and do business.

Bubier said he would like to see several developers team up to put several different types of businesses on the approximately 8-acre site. These could include a hotel, convention center, business incubators and many other types of businesses.

“It’s all speculation at this point,” he said, adding, “We wouldn’t foreclose anything.”

— Staff Writer Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324 or [email protected].