From: Whipple, Deb (GOV)
Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2010 4:36
PM
Subject: What the governor is talking about today
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Governor Hails Creation of Federal Trust
Fund to Clean Up and Reuse Closed GM Plants
The governor today hailed the announcement of a
landmark federal framework that will invest more than $800 million to speed the
cleanup and redevelopment of closed GM plants in Michigan and 13 other states to
put those facilities back into productive use. Michigan will garner the
most funds of any state under the trust fund.
Of the 90 sites
covered by the plan, 47 are in Michigan. Affected communities include Bay
City, Burton, Detroit, Flint, Lansing, Lansing Twp., Livonia, Mt. Morris,
Pontiac, Romulus, Saginaw, Van Buren Twp., Wyoming and
Ypsilanti.
The framework will allocate $536 million for the cleanup
of the properties and approximately $300 million to assist the states and
communities in dealing with property taxes, demolition costs, plant security
costs and other expenses.
Michigan’s Project Phoenix program ( http://www.michiganadvantage.org/Project-Phoenix/Default.aspx),
introduced by the governor in her 2010 State of the State address, brings the
state, current and former property owners, businesses, communities, developers
and other parties together to inventory and promote for reuse former
manufacturing sites. The program includes buildings of 500,000 square feet
or more and land sites of 80 acres or more where former manufacturing facilities
already have been demolished.
Key
messages:
• We are extremely pleased the Obama
administration is providing tools to help Michigan communities transform these
iconic properties for the new economy. This will help turbo-charge our own
Project Phoenix program to revitalize communities by reusing idled manufacturing
plants.
• If companies are looking to expand or
relocate, these properties will be available much sooner than anticipated.
We are thankful for the efforts of the Departments of Treasury and Justice, the
EPA and Dr. Ed Montgomery, director of the White House Council on Automotive
Communities and Workers.
Governor Announces More Than 900 New Jobs
for Michigan
The governor today announced that the Michigan
Economic Development Corporation is helping four companies grow in Michigan and
backing a brownfield redevelopment project in downtown Flint. Combined,
the five projects are expected to create 910 new jobs (431 direct) and generate
$99.4 million in new investment in the state.
The Michigan
Economic Growth Authority board today approved incentives to win the following
projects for Michigan over competing states and
countries:
ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods LLC — The
manufacturer of many leading brands of packaged foods, including Healthy Choice,
Chef Boyardee, Hebrew National, Hunt’s and others, plans to invest $73 million
to expand in Kentwood to grow its private-label snack-bar business and
increase its manufacturing capacity. The project is expected to create up
to 460 new jobs (205 direct and 255 indirect).
Grandpapa’s
Inc. — The company specializing in manufacturing, baking, packaging,
distributing and shipping of a variety of snack foods plans to invest $4.1
million to expand and renovate a 130,000-square-foot facility in
Detroit. The project is expected to create up to 269 total jobs
(125 direct and 144 indirect).
Proto Manufacturing Inc. —
The developer of applications for customers in the aerospace, alternative
energy, medical device technology, defense, power generation, nuclear and
automotive industries plans to invest $5.2 million to relocate and expand its
operations to a new 18,800-suare-foot facility in Taylor to include
in-house laboratory services. The project is expected to create up to 88 jobs
(46 direct and 42 indirect).
TK Holdings Inc. — Takata
Corporation’s North American headquarters, TK Holdings Inc., which manufactures
automotive safety equipment including seatbelts, airbags, steering wheels,
interior trim and textiles, plans to invest $14.6 million to expand in Auburn
Hills to allow the company to enhance onsite automotive crash
simulations. The company is expected to create up to 78 jobs (40 direct
and 38 indirect).
City of Flint — State and local tax
capture valued at $227,786 and an additional $287,115 in local-only tax capture
will support a brownfield project that will redevelop two vacant, blighted
commercial buildings on the north end of downtown. The project will
generate $2.5 million in new capital investment and create up to 15 new
jobs.
Key messages:
• We are working tirelessly to bring new jobs
to Michigan, going anywhere and doing anything to show companies that we have
the tools and talent to help them grow. Today’s company announcements
highlight the positive impact of our aggressive economic diversification
plan.
• Successful collaboration with our local
economic development partners enabled us to win these projects over stiff
competition from other states and countries.
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