General Motors Co. is looking to invest $200 million at the former Palace of Auburn Hills property for an automotive supply facility to support electric vehicle production at a nearby assembly plant, according to documents from the city obtained by The Detroit News.
The plant is expected to create 1,000 jobs on a three-shift operation, according to a city planning commission agenda. It will support the automaker’s Orion Assembly plant, which GM will transition next year to make electric trucks. GM spokesperson Maria Raynal said Friday it’s premature to discuss the investment figure and the job count for the project.
“General Motors has identified the former Palace of Auburn Hills site as a potential location for a supplier park to support its Orion Assembly Plant, which will be expanded to produce electric pickup trucks,” Raynal said in a statement. “The company is still determining the scope of work and which supplier will have operations in support of the plant.”
Plans call for a 1.1 million-square-foot light industrial building on an 87.3-acre site west of Lapeer Road, according to a comprehensive proposal submitted to the Auburn Hills Planning Commission. The governing body will discuss the matter at a May 3 meeting.
Schostak Brothers & Company will redevelop the property, according to plans first reported by Crain’s Detroit Business. Construction is expected to start in July 2023 and be complete in November 2024. Schostak will lease the facility to GM, with licensing agreements to GM third-party suppliers.
“We have been planning and preparing for this day for the last seven years,” Auburn Hills Mayor Kevin R. McDaniel said in a statement Friday. “While we were disappointed when the Palace of Auburn Hills closed, we viewed it as a new opportunity. At that time, our team developed several possible scenarios for the site that included a large-scale development with other complimentary (sic) uses. It was important that a comprehensive redevelopment would occur, given its prime location.”
McDaniel said that when Schostak acquired the property, the city worked side-by-side with the company on a plan that would redevelop the site to its highest and best use.
“We have received a development application on behalf of General Motors to build a facility in support of their nearby Orion Assembly Plant,” he said. “Along with many months of advance planning and site design and given the proximity in our community to Orion Assembly, we have every expectation that General Motors will proceed as proposed. This would be a significant project and would represent a tremendous strategic investment in our community. It would also build on our reputation as being a “hub” of electric vehicle development and manufacturing.”
According to the plan, the building will operate as a “value-added assembly” facility because it will manufacture various automotive components for the production lines at Orion Assembly. GM announced this week it would halt production of the electric Chevrolet Bolt products at Orion at the end of this year. Production of the electric Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra will start in late 2024.
Since the Orion plant property is limited in size, GM needs a separate 1.1 million-square-foot facility to perform pre-assemblies, according the plan submitted to the city.
The property is the former site of the Palace of Auburn Hills, which opened on Aug. 13, 1988, and served as home to the Detroit Pistons. In November 2016, Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores announced he would move the team to Detroit. The building was imploded in July 2020.
Staff writer Kalea Hall contributed.
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