Sleepy Eye Purchases Former Del Monte Processing Plant

(Learfield News/Sleepy Eye, MN) — Sleepy Eye Public Utilities has taken ownership of the former Del Monte processing plant, finalizing the purchase of the 215-thousand-square-foot facility for six hundred thousand dollars after it went through foreclosure and was auctioned off.

The plant, which began operating in 1930, shut down in 2019, leaving more than 360 people out of work after decades of canning locally grown peas and sweet corn.

City crews are now clearing out the site, and officials say they’re considering several redevelopment possibilities that could boost local economic growth.