CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — ArcelorMittal is launching a national marketing campaign to sell off more than 1,700 acres of land in and around its West Virginia steel operations, from quarter-acre residential parcels to large, wooded lots.

ArcelorMittal will work with local and state officials to ensure proposed redevelopment projects make sense for Weirton, whose population and economy have dwindled since the bankruptcy of the former Weirton Steel Corp., said Keith Nagel, director of environmental affairs and real estate for the steelmaker.

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“I do not think our management would support any action that would be detrimental to the local community,” Nagel said Wednesday. “We’re going to continue to be in that marketplace down there. We’re investing in that business, and we want to be a viable part of the community.”

About half the acreage owned by Weirton Steel had nothing to do with steelmaking.
“It seemed that if there was any property available at all, they bought it,” Nagel said. “Weirton Steel literally owned the valley.”

Netherlands-based Mittal Steel Co. bought Weirton Steel in 2004 before merging with Belgium’s Arcelor SA.

Nagel declined to say how much the property is worth but said profit is not the only factor in the sale.

“There have been transactions I’ve done in the past that were negative transactions for ArcelorMittal, but it was the right thing to do,” Nagel said.

Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., called the announcement “great and welcome news for all of us who have been looking to attract jobs and investments to the Northern Panhandle.”

“Given the breadth and depth of the land that’s available for sale, it will clearly make it easier for us to continue to market and promote Weirton as great place to do business,” he said. “As we’ve seen across the country in other steel communities, the possibilities for this land are endless.”

Mark Glyptis, president of United Steelworkers Local No. 2911, said the parcels have river, rail and road access, and an airport is nearby, making them attractive to other companies.

“From the union’s standpoint, we think it’s good. If you can take that land and construct companies that will provide jobs that could support families, that’s great,” Glyptis said.

“I think when you look out three or four years from now, you’re going to see a city and a region that’s going to be growing,” he said. “The opportunity is certainly going to be there.”

ArcelorMittal has also sold unused land for redevelopment at Pittsburgh’s South Side Works, Cleveland’s Steelyard Commons, Steel Winds in Lackawanna, N.Y., and the Bethlehem (Pa.) Commerce Center.

The company will keep more than 200 acres for its tin business, which ArcelorMittal has said it plans to grow.

No raw steel has been produced in Weirton since 2005, and the mills that once employed 13,000 people now employ roughly 1,100. But the company says the land sale is not an indication of further downsizing.

“ArcelorMittal is committed to having an active presence in the community with a more efficient facility,” said Brian James, general manager of the Weirton plant.

The company also touts its more than $8 million investment in cleanup projects around Weirton, including demolition of the former coke plant and sinter plant. Demolition of the open hearth furnace should wrap up by fall.

Mittal has long said it would like to sell unused land in Weirton but was unable to do so until now because of federal restrictions imposed at the start of its merger with Arcelor.