HOYT LAKES— Top officials with Louisiana-Pacific Corporation were in Eveleth on Tuesday to announce their desire to move forward with a proposed engineered wood siding manufacturing facility at the Laskin Energy Park, near Hoyt Lakes.

The estimated $440 million project has quietly been in the works for months and, once operational, it is expected to employ 250 workers or more, with 500-600 indirect jobs, mostly in the logging industry.

Speaking to the IRRRB on Tuesday, L-P Executive Vice President Brian Luoma said the company has been investigating a number of sites in North America for the proposed new mill, but has given preliminary approval to the Hoyt Lakes location. “It is our intention to build a mill,” he said. “The question is where. We hope it’s here,” he said.

IRRRB officials hope so as well, and the board demonstrated it by unanimously approving a $36 million package of financial incentives to make it happen.

“It’s going to be a great project for our region,” said IRRRB economic development director Steve Peterson. But Peterson acknowledged that significant site preparation will be required before L-P could move forward with the project. He said the site needs all the basic utilities, including roadways, water and sewer, gas and electric lines, rail extensions, fire protection, and stormwater facilities. The current price tag for the work is estimated at $30 million, with $20 million to come from the 21st Century Minerals Fund and $10 million from the Doug J. Johnson Economic Development Fund. Other partners, including ALLETE-MN Power and St. Louis County are expected to provide an additional $10 million for other unspecified work associated with the project.

“The money that we are talking about today is not going to Louisiana- Pacific, as some of our friends in the media have led you to believe,” said Peterson. “This is for site work.”

Peterson said if the site work does move forward, L-P would be willing to sign an agreement under which the company would reimburse the state of Minnesota if the project ultimately did not go forward.

In addition to the site prep funds, the IRRRB board approved a $6 million sales tax rebate on building supplies used during construction of the facility.

Earlier this year, the Minnesota Legislature approved a $3 million annual production incentive for up to ten years. That could generate up to $30 million for the company, and would put total public investment in the project at $66 million.

This week’s announcement is a preliminary step only. According to Luoma, the company hopes to have preliminary approval by July 29 to move forward with preliminary site design work for Hoyt Lakes project. Luoma said final approval would not come before February 2017.

Louisiana-Pacific is a publicly-traded wood products manufacturer with 3,900 employees worldwide and annual sales of $1.9 billion.