3/7/14 - A hundred new jobs will be added to the Brighton area employment picture if approval is given by the city and state to plans by a German automotive supplier for a huge expansion of its Brighton facility. Eberspaecher North America wants to build a 191,000-square-foot addition to its plant on Orndorf Drive and is asking for approval of a tax abatement of up to 50% by the city in order to do it. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. has already approved a $4.5 million grant for the project, contingent on the cityâs approval of the abatement. The Brighton City Council Thursday approved setting March 20 as the date for a hearing on a request by ENA for a tax break so the company can build the 191,000-square-foot addition. ENA is a global manufacturer of advanced auto and truck exhaust systems with facilities on six continents. The Brighton plant makes catalytic converters and other exhaust components for large trucks. The current plant â opened in 2003 â is 110,000 square feet in size, but if the plans are approved would mushroom to over 300,000 square feet, making it the largest ENA facility in North America. ENA President Doug Swick tells WHMI it will be the fifth expansion of the Brighton plant. The entire project is expected to cost about $60 million. Even with a potential tax abatement of up to 50%, the additional investment in its Brighton plant is projected to increase the amount of tax revenue the city receives from ENA to $415,000 over the next six years, even if the personal property tax is eliminated by the state legislature. Without elimination of the personal property tax, the city would receive a projected $910,000 in new tax revenue, and other local governments would also benefit Swick says if final approval is granted, he hopes to get started on the expansion in the third or fourth quarter of the year and begin production from the expanded facility by the end of 2015. Foster says in order to do that, Orndorf Drive must be improved with a relocated cul de sac and its intersection with West Grand River reconstructed with mast arm street signs, new traffic lights and other upgrades. Most of the $700,000 street project would be paid for with an expected MDOT grant. (TT)
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