The presence of General Motors (NYSE: GM) in Arlington will expand 1.2 million square feet via two facilities, as city and industry leaders announced Friday the Arlington Logistics Center will open in 2018.
Prominent politicians including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, fourth from left, and Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, sixth from right, were on hand for the Arlington Logistics Center unveiling Friday afternoon. The site will be a future GM supplier park and is right next to the company’s manufacturing facility.
Here’s the jobs breakdown of the automotive supplier park:
• 1,250 total jobs at the park
• 850 of the total will be new jobs, which are in addition to the 7,000 U.S. jobs GM announced it was adding or keeping in January
• 600 will replace international jobs
“It’s through a strong supplier-community relations that we are able to create new supplier parks generating benefits to our manufacturing operation and communities,” said Steve Kiefer, senior vice president of Global Purchasing and Supply Chain for GM.
For GM, it’s a great benefit having its suppliers across the street from its manufacturing plants as they save money on the logistics end. Kiefer said the company has saved $1 billion in the last decade in its logistics costs, in part because of these supplier parks.
GM already has supplier parks next to their manufacturing and assembly facilities in Fairfax, Kansas; Wentzville, Missouri; Bowling Green, Kentucky; and Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In Arlington, the auto-manufacturer makes SUVs like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade. Roughly 4,200 are employed there.
Also on hand Friday afternoon were politicians like U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams, who each boasted about Texas’ tax friendly environment and the redevelopment of the old Six Flags Mall site.
“This enables us to redevelop a piece of property that was no longer economically viable,” Williams said. “Transforming an old mall site into a logistics center that is projected to generate $151 million in taxable sales and purchases over the next decade.”
“My No. 1 priority in the Senate is jobs, jobs, jobs,” Cruz added. “…We’re here celebrating 850 new jobs.”
Because of that business-friendly mindset, GM will get millions in incentives to build its supplier park.
The potential incentive with NP Arlington Industrial would be a a 100 percent abatement of ad valorem taxes on value above the current base real property value for 10 years, city documents said.
Also in the agreement is a $6 million grant paid out to the developer over increments provided they reach development goals.
Third, the agreement allows for $2 million worth of infrastructure improvements to the project by the city, including side walks and drainage improvements.
The talks for this park began three-and-a-half years ago, said Chad Meyer, president and chief operating officer of Missouri-based NorthPoint Development.
“I have noticed that, although we had some delays, GM has not pushed our deadline back,” Meyer joked. “So, we’ll be working feverishly … to deliver this thing on roughly an impossible schedule. But, if you come back here a year from now, I’m confident you’ll see people clocking in at the door everyday.”
The Dallas-Fort Worth region has attracted several large corporate relocations in the past few years as the area’s economy keeps booming. On Friday, Cruz jokingly tried to grease the wheels for one more while on stage with Kiefer, an SVP of GM.
“I’m pretty confident, just over there,” said Cruz, pointing to his right and turning to Kiefer, “there’d be room for a new global headquarters of General Motors.”