Michigan’s Economic Development Corporation has approved tax breaks for 17 projects in the state. The incentives are supposed to help companies create nearly 3,000 total jobs.
The expansion of an automotive supplier in the Detroit suburb of Redford will likely have the biggest impact on the job market. Piston Automotive LLC will create 467 jobs – albeit only 135 of those directly. The producer of electric batteries and car chassis was considering expanding in Kentucky.
A close second in terms of creating new jobs is a company that’s expanding in Kentwood, just south of Grand Rapids. Autocam Corporation makes precision parts for transportation and medical devices. They’ll hire 200 new employees and the state estimates the project will create another 265 jobs indirectly.
Eleven of the projects will help investors redevelop blighted buildings.
In Grand Rapids, a bunch of old warehouses will be transformed into a year-round indoor fresh food market. The dilapidated A&P paper factory right next to the Grand River will be transformed into Grand Valley State University’s new business school.
The state board also granted incentives for a number of projects in Detroit. The abandoned Free Press building downtown will be turned into offices and apartments. And an obsolete medical center near Wayne State University will be redeveloped into new medical offices.
Other Brownfield redevelopment plans were approved for projects in Lansing, Flint, and Hamtramck.
