CLARKSVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- The last few workers at the Colgate-Palmolive Co. plant are expected to leave by the end of June, but the fate of the factory's 52-acre site along the Ohio River has yet to be determined.
Toothpaste production at the plant ended in December, and Clarksville leaders envision several new uses for the site.
They tout its potential for offices, a hotel or condominiums. Other possibilities include shops and a convention center.
Clarksville Plan Commission Director Sharon Wilson said local officials have talked to three developers since February, and one made an offer for the site two weeks ago. She said she didn't know whether Colgate responded, and she declined to identify the developers.
''We are trying to get prepared for anyone who ends up there,'' she said.
The commission wants to rezone the Colgate area from industrial to mixed use to allow residential, retail and other kinds of development, Wilson said.
Town Council President Paul Kraft said he's optimistic about the site because it's large and is just across the river from Louisville, Ky.
But Louisville developer J.D. Nichols said he believes the area's condo market is saturated, and it will be difficult to find financing for the project.
Colgate has moved most of the equipment it used to make toothpaste and other products to a new location in Tennessee.
The company said the factory's 38-foot-diameter clock will remain as part of the sale. The clock was moved to Clarksville in 1924 and is thought to be the second-largest in the world. A statement from Colgate, however, did not address any potential buyers.
Colgate came to Clarksville in 1921, when it converted an old state prison into a soap factory. The plant expanded in the 1940s to make toothpaste, shaving cream and other toiletries.
Colgate announced the factory's closing in October 2005.
