Nonprofit Aims to Revitalize Decaying Pillsbury Mills Site

Moving Pillsbury Forward Plans $10 Million Cleanup, Turns Site into Cultural Phenomenon

The nonprofit Moving Pillsbury Forward has a five-year, $10 million plan to raze the century-old Pillsbury Mills plant in Springfield, Illinois, and renew the 18-acre site.
The group has already razed two structures and expects to demolish more next year, with a vision for a light industrial future.
The site has been turned into a cultural phenomenon, with popular tours, oral histories, and nighttime graffiti exhibitions.
The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $1.2 billion for brownfields cleanup, and the Pillsbury group wants $2.6 million of the total added to what they have already been promised by the federal, state and Springfield governments.
The group is also preserving memories of the plant, collecting oral histories from past employees, and documenting the site for historical context.