Pittsfield businessman Jacob Trudeau purchased the long-vacant Strathmore Mill building in the hopes of opening a cannabis facility there, but on Friday his dream went up in smoke.
Strathmore Mill Number 2 was destroyed in a massive fire that drew 125 firefighters from across the region to assist. Two days later the wreckage of the mill building continues to smolder and small fires could be seen shooting up through the remains of the factory.
“We were in the very early stages of putting a cannabis facility there,” Trudeau said. “We spent a lot of money cleaning it out. The part that burned was the part we had mostly cleaned.”
Trudeau purchased the 233,000 square-foot complex for $15,000 at auction in May, 2019. At the time the real estate developer said he was not certain what he was going to do with the building but was certain it had a purpose.
Read more at masslive.com