These plots of land used to house the production of thousands of cars, now they only produce weeds.
“It was sort of an advertisement, sort of a reminder that we used to be something more,” Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said.
The GM Plants in four places in Lansing, Lansing Township, and Delta Township were all shut down in the early 2000’s and later demolished. But now, the area could be revitalized. Bernero says it’s exciting.
“This is what we had hoped for, what we dreamed of that there would be an industrial reuse and of course the plants that are built today are cleaner and greener than the plants that used to be,” he said.
NorthPoint Development has agreed to buy the land from the Racer Trust and build automotive manufacturing, warehousing, and distributing facilities.
“Manufacturers want their supply chain closer in, that’s a very good thing for Lansing and for the redevelopment of these old sites,” Bernero said.
A man who lives near one of the sites on Saginaw Hwy and Verlinden says he hopes the projects bring jobs and positive change to the neighborhood.
“I do hope to see a lot of development especially on the southwest side where there’s a lot of vacant houses and vacant lots still, I’d like to see a lot of development come back to that area,” Corey Derushia said.
Bernero says the redevelopment proves that the auto industry is willing to invest in mid-Michigan.
“It could lead to further development because investors like to be part of big things, investors like to be part of success,” he said.