America's Choice working to come back to Newport.

America's Choice Products LLC, which left its Newport plant for Pocahontas in December, is working out a deal to return to its Newport facility.

The company wants half the space that it previously occupied and a 90-day option on the other half of the 113,000-SF facility, said John Carroll, CEO of the Newgrange Group of North Smithfield, R.I., which is the parent company of America's Choice.

"It is a possibility that we may have a need for the rest of the space," Carroll said.

The company is working on getting orders for its snow and rubber boots from retailers, he said.

"We're pretty confident we have a substantial number of them," Carroll said.

The company will hire between 40 and 80 workers if it returns to Newport.

Carroll also said the company last week still was working out an arrangement to pay its nearly $180,000 in unpaid rent.

On Dec. 23, Southwest Steel Processing LLC of Newport sued America's Choice in U.S. District Court in an attempt to collect the rent.

"We've sent a proposal to settle up the past dispute and, at the same time, make a proposal for a five-year lease," Carroll said.

An attorney for Southwest Steel, David Johnson of Little Rock, said he wasn't aware of any negotiations to settle the debt, but he would welcome such a move.

The lawsuit is pending.