Monday, 2:23 p.m.: Automotive supplier, Sakthi Automotive, will invest $31 million to redevelop the vacant Southwestern High School in Detroit into a 650-employee manufacturing campus and training center, the mayor's office says in a press release.
The project was announced by Gov. Rick Snyder and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan on Monday afternoon.
The release says:
The development is being made possible thanks to a deal between Sakthi, its partner, ProVisions, and the Detroit Public Schools to purchase the vacant high school building and turn it into a training center for high-tech manufacturing jobs. Two weeks ago, the Michigan Strategic Fund committed $3.5 million to Sakthi Automotive to support employment and business growth.
Sakthai Sakthi’s $31-million investment in the facility is driven by the company’s foray into the production of lightweight aluminum castings. This expansion means that lightweight metal auto components currently produced in China will be manufactured by workers in newly-created jobs at the Sakthi campus in Detroit.
“This project is a prime example of how cooperation between the State, the City, Detroit Public Schools and the private sector can help create jobs and preserve our city’s heritage,” said Mayor Duggan. “Sakthi is making a major commitment to Detroit and is creating employment opportunities for our residents that otherwise would have remained overseas.”
The roughly 70-acre Sakthi Manufacturing Campus will contain an estimated 1.2 million square feet of space across four facilities. In the last year, Sakthi entered into purchase agreements for the old GM Fisher Body plant just east of its main building on Fort Street and the former American Mailers building to the west, to house its expanded manufacturing operations.
Original article Monday
Southwest Detroit is going to get a needed economic boost.
Holly Fournier of the Detroit News reports that Mayor Mike Duggan and Gov. Rick Snyder plan to announce Monday afternoon expansion of automotive development in Detroit that includes the use of the vacant Southwestern High School.
The News reports:
The plan will create hundreds of new jobs, generate millions in new investment and will include development at the old school at 6912 West Fort Street in southwest Detroit, officials said.
Officials with Detroit Public Schools, former Southwestern High School, the Sakthi Group and ProVisions also are expected to attend a press conference Monday.
The News reported last month that the Sakthi Group would invest up to $31.9 million to expand its operations near its current facility on West Fort near Livernois. The investment includes the addition of 350 new jobs in Detroit — more than doubling its workforce of about 200.
The investment also includes a new aluminum foundry to support auto industry initiatives to reduce weight; planned purchase and reuse of the former Southwestern High School, just west of their current facility, into a manufacturing, advanced worker training and employee wellness center; and the development of two other buildings for "additional manufacturing and machining operations."
Southwestern High School was closed about three years ago.
A press conference is scheduled for 1:15 p.m.
