DETROIT (WWJ) The site of the former Cadillac Stamping Plant on Detroit’s east side will soon be the home of a new industrial facility with an eye on hiring locally.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan announced Thursday the vacant eyesore along Conner Street will be replaced with a new $48 million facility, which officials say will create 450 new jobs, with Detroiters to be prioritized for hiring at the new facility.
The site, just north of I-94 and east of Gratiot Avenue, had been mostly vacant since the 1980s and fully vacant since 2015, until demolition of the nearly-century-old building began in March. Demolition is expected to be completed in July.
The former plant is now being razed to make way for a new 684,000 square-foot industrial building that is expected to employ 450 workers in the automotive and manufacturing industries.
Officials say the project is expected to be completed in about a year and will create “significant opportunity for Detroiters and Detroit-based businesses through the demolition process, new building construction and the hiring for permanent jobs at the new facility.”
Inner City Contracting, LLC -- a Detroit-based and headquartered, and 51% minority-owned demolition and contracting company -- is leading the $6 million demolition efforts.
A Missouri-based company, NorthPoint Development, is heading the project and says it is committed to ensuring that the future tenant of the new building prioritizes hiring Detroiters through candidates provided by the city’s employment agency, Detroit at Work.
At least 51% of the construction workers building the new facility will be required to be Detroit residents under Executive Order 2021-2.
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Duggan says what has been a symbol of Detroit’s decline in the east-side neighborhood for years is “now an example of real opportunity in our city.”
“Through every step of this process, we are making sure that Detroiters and Detroit-based companies are prioritized and have the chance to participate in and benefit from the work being done on this exciting new project,” Duggan said.
NorthPoint Development approached Detroit city officials in 2019 with a plan to demolish the existing facility and build a multi-tenant industrial and manufacturing facility on the site. NorthPoint’s portfolio includes nearly 100 million square-feet of industrial space in 24 states.
The future tenants of the new project have not been determined.
The stamping plant dates back nearly a century to 1925 when it was built for the Hudson Motor Company. Designed by Albert Kahn, the factory sent automobile bodies to the Hudson main assembly plant at Jefferson Avenue. General Motors bought the plant in 1956 and for thirty years hoods, fenders and bumpers for Cadillac automobiles were produced here. The plant has sat mostly vacant since the 1980s, although the Ivan Doverspike Company operated out of the facility on a limited basis until it vacated it in 2015.
Officials say the site required significant lead and asbestos removal and extensive clean-up of contamination, costing more than $18 million. The City of Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has been approved to receive more than $3.3 million in state tax capture from the Michigan Strategif Fund to reimburse the developer for eligible brownfield activities, according to the city.
"Wayne County is also assisting by sponsoring a $1 million Clean Michigan Initiative grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) which will be used to address environmental issues as well as on-site storm water detention. The City of Detroit is supporting the project with the local portion of the Act 381 Brownfield Plan request valued at $10 million and an anticipated 12-year Industrial Facilities Tax Exemption valued at $8 million."
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