New Detroit Jeep Factory Will Not Become Another Poletown

Lest anyone think of the major announcement made Tuesday by the Jeep of a new assembly plant in East Detroit, a new controversy around Poletown causing widespread involuntary displacement of residents, This will not be the case.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Tuesday to mayors Mike Duggan and Gretchen Whitmer that they would create 5,000 jobs and invest more than a billion dollars in the creation of a new final assembly plant. Jeep on the site of its former Avenue, engine plant near St. John and Mack, on the east side of Detroit.

And even though the city of Detroit has to gather 200 hectares of land for the project, it no longer has the eminent power to drive residents out of their homes and demolish a neighborhood to build a car factory, as was the case for Hamtramck from General Motors. assembly plant in the 1980s, known as the Poletown controversy after the lost Polish district.

More: FCA Opens Jeep Plant in Detroit and Invests $ 4.5 Billion in Southeastern Michigan

This type of eminent domain seizure has been banned in Michigan for many years. And besides, the politics of the day would probably not allow that to happen. The announcement on Tuesday by the new Jeep plant on the east side sparked cheers, not demonstrations.

Instead, as Duggan told the press, the city will have to convince homeowners in the vicinity of Saint John and Mack on the east side to sell voluntarily or, in many cases, To exchange their land for another plot that the city has elsewhere. This process begins immediately and the city has 60 days as part of its agreement with FCA to complete the assembly of the land.

It helps enormously that about 170 of the 200 acres needed are in the hands of a few big landowners, including the city itself, DTE Energy and the Moroun family.

And do not forget that the ordinance on benefits for the city community states that FCA, the company building the new plant under a $ 4.5 billion expansion of the manufacturing sector in southeastern Michigan, which will represent nearly 6,500 jobs, will have to negotiate a set of improvements. for neighborhoods nearby.

This agreement could include professional training, pollution control or other improvements that will facilitate public acceptance of the project.

It will be interesting to see what happens if some small landowners decide to block the city by charging exorbitant prices for tiny parcels. It's hard to imagine that the city will not get the land it needs, but there may be some pitfalls along the way.

In the meantime, here are some of the other issues raised at the announcement of the new Jeep plant by Tuesday:

Coleman A. Young International Airport, the former airport of the city

In the past year or so, Duggan and his team have suggested closing down the city's eastern city airport and converting its 260 acres into a new property, perhaps an industrial park. Proponents of this idea point out that the airport is underutilized and that it is difficult to gather as much land if a major project materializes.

The new Jeep plant will no doubt spill over into supplier projects or related activities. These projects will need land to be built. Duggan said the city would be fighting to get new factories from suppliers that supply parts to the Jeep plant.

So this Jeep announcement could increase City Airport's closure suggestions.

But it could also do exactly the opposite. The presence of the new Jeep plant about one kilometer south of the airport could significantly increase the demand for air transport near the factory. The nearest airports to the Jeep factory site are maybe an hour away.

Nobody guesses it. But nothing else, it is likely that this Jeep announcement will increase pressure for a decision to revitalize City Airport with significant new investments, or close it. This is a debate that is long overdue.

Detroiters jobs

They improve, or at least a lot of them. There is obviously no quota, but it is an advantage for everyone to see that the Detroiters are benefiting from a project of such magnitude.

The good news is that it's more and more likely. The city's workforce training programs have been strengthened in recent years, which will help provide skilled workers for some jobs. As Duggan pointed out, in the new Flex-N-Gate plant, located in the eastern part of Detroit, about 65% of the 800 employees work in the city.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer described the agreement as "generational investment" for the state and predicted spinoff benefits for the economy, with up to eight indirect jobs for every new job in the state. the new Jeep factory. With an average salary at the Jeep plant set at $ 58,000, this could generate a huge gain for many Detroiters.

More: FCA Opens Jeep Plant in Detroit and Invests $ 4.5 Billion in Southeastern Michigan

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Property values

All these new workers will have to live somewhere and if many of them can come from further afield in the city or suburbs, at least some will choose to live nearby, which will stimulate demand in the immediate vicinity. This could accentuate the trend toward new construction that has already moved closer to downtown and along the river.

There is no doubt that the project will affect the value of neighborhood properties on the east side, from the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood to the far east to the Villages district to the west and other areas to the north. .

Environmental impact

The great novelty will involve intensive industrial use of the site and a significant increase in vehicle traffic. By its nature, the burden on the immediate environment is heavier, especially the Conner Creek watershed that flows into the Detroit River.

Duggan acknowledged it during his press conference Tuesday. But he added that measures would be taken to minimize the impact on the water system.

Contact John Gallagher at 313-222-5173 or [email protected].Follow him on Twitter @jgallagherfreep. Learn more about companies and sign up for our newsletter.

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