Chicago-based manufacturer has taken ownership of about 180 acres in northwest Citrus County to warehouse synthetic gypsum from the nearby Progress Energy power plant. 

CRYSTAL RIVER - A Chicago-based manufacturer has taken ownership of about 180 acres in northwest Citrus County to warehouse synthetic gypsum from the nearby Progress Energy power plant.

The United States Gypsum Co., or USG, plans to store the gypsum until it is transported to company plants in North America, company spokesman Mark Joseph said. 

Gypsum is the material used to make drywall. Joseph said the gypsum from Progress Energy is a byproduct of its pollution-control scrubbers at the coal-burning facility. 

USG received a trustee’s deed Sept. 14 from City National Bank of Florida, which owns about 400 acres near Power Line Road. According to the deed, USG is the sole beneficiary of the trust. 

Joseph said the company’s plans do not go further than storage of the material in warehouses. He said the company has no plans at this time to manufacture drywall at the Citrus County site. 

“We took possession of the land to make it a storage facility,” he said. 

Because drywall is used in construction, Joseph said economic conditions require nothing more now than someplace to store and ship the material. 

However, he wouldn’t rule out expansion. 

“We don’t know what the future will bring,” Joseph said. “The Florida market is not the best right now for housing.”

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