Chrysler expansion may close Van Horn

Sean Dalton, The News-Herald, RENTON — A section of Van Horn Road could be closed permanently if a proposed V-6 engine plant is built in the city.

The City Council voted at a special meeting Monday to move forward with plans to close the road south of the Trenton Engine Plant, between Fort Street and West Jefferson Avenue.

The closure will be a key concession in ongoing negotiations with DaimlerChrysler to build a new engine plant in the city.

The proposed $800 million facility would produce a new V-6 engine codenamed "Phoenix."

A road closure request was sent to the Wayne County Commission on Wednesday after the meeting Monday, city officials said.

If county engineers have no objections, the commission will take the next step in permanently closing the road to residential traffic, said Ken Kucel, director of the Wayne County Department of Public Services.

"As long as no one protests in house the petition is sent out to the community and at least seven property owners in the community must sign the affidavit," Kucel said. "(The affidavit) must consist of names and addresses of each and every occupant adjacent to the street to be vacated."

The next step would be to notify utility companies, which have a two-week window to respond to the county's notice. If there are no internal objections at the commission level, the request would be approved, Kucel said.

Monday's meeting originally was called to discuss the sale of a small piece of park property to a private business owner.

The existing DaimlerChrysler plant, which opened in 1952, produces three engines — 3.3-liter, 3.8-liter and 4.0-liter. The facility will close in 2014, when the engine models it produces go out of production.

According to city officials, DaimlerChrysler sent the mayor's office a letter Friday saying that it would need Van Horn shut down indefinitely to make room for the new plant, which also would expand over nearby soccer fields and take up half of the existing parking lot. A total of 980,000 square feet was requested for the plant's construction.

The original requirement was 1.2 million square feet, which was scaled down to cooperate with and accommodate the city's situation, according to Mayor Gerald Brown.

"We're giving them a huge financial package to lure them here, in turn," he said. "DaimlerChrysler produces 25 percent of our city's revenues."

The letter simultaneously was sent to Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano's staff.

"(They said) if you really are serious about this plant being here for the future, the footprint of the plant has to go over Van Horn Road between the railroad tracks," City Administrator Robert Cady said. "I think any city would have to give it serious consideration."

DaimlerChrysler could come back with a decision next week, according to city officials.

That decision was supposed to come this week, but there was an administrative issue at DaimlerChrysler, city officials said.

Wayne County has been close to negotiations between the automaker and the city, Cady said.

Some city officials said two other sites considered for the new plant are outside the county.

But Brown has said that the sites are within the county "on the outskirts."

Those locations have been kept under wraps for the purpose of negotiations, he said.

Regardless of location, the facility must be operational for 2010 model year vehicles.

"There has to be a shovel in the ground no later than Nov. 1 of this year," Cady said.

Council members said it was a tough choice to make, considering the possible inconvenience to residents of neighboring Grosse Ile.

"I'm one of those guys who lives on Van Horn, so I'm going to have to go around too, but the economical advantages outweigh that," Councilman William LeFevre said.

The administration has been negotiating with DaimlerChrysler for three months, during which alternatives were sought to closing the road.

"This isn't the one that we're happiest with, but we tried all different kinds of configurations," Lefevre said. "... We came up with Van Horn having to be closed or we would not be up for consideration."

That stretch of Van Horn is the route widely used by area residents for public access to and from Grosse Ile via the Wayne County Bridge, which is at the south end of the island community. There also is a toll bridge about four miles away at the north end of the island.

Alternate routes suggested are to take Vreeland or West roads to and from West Jefferson for access to the free bridge. Vreeland Road is south of Van Horn and West Road is north of Van Horn.

Officials said the project is still fluid and there is more to it than just closing a road.

"Until they get a handle on the machinery and equipment going in there, it could go larger," Cady said. "There are 28 acres of triangular land at the north part of their property that they need to turn into a parking lot."

The city is trying to hold onto as many jobs as possible. The standing engine plant employs 1,500 workers; the new plant would employ about half of that.

"Not only is this a shot into the arm for the taxes, but this is 600 high-paying jobs," Cady said. "It's not flipping burgers at McDonald's. It's on us and the council to keep these jobs here."

The council fully supports negotiations between the city and DaimlerChrysler.

"We need the plant, not only for Trenton, but for the whole Downriver area," LeFevre said.

The competition for the project is fierce, according to Councilman Terrence Teifer.

"In Kenosha, Wis., where the other significant Chrysler engine plant is, they don't charge property taxes," Teifer said. "In Dundee, they used a community block grant of $100 million in benefits."

A facility similar to the one proposed for Trenton was built last year in Dundee. Construction of that plant was finished in October.

"That's what we're up against here," Teifer said. "The engine produced in Dundee replaced the engine that was produced at the (existing) Trenton engine plant."

Teifer said that how the city handles the road closure is still ongoing.

"I don't know if there's a way to route it, but as it stands, it is closed," Teifer said. "If it were partially opened, it would not be opened to public traffic, but would only be used by DTE and treatment plant employees."

DaimlerChrysler's intentions to build the new plant were made public April 30, when United Auto Workers' contract negotiations at the existing plant called for new job specifications down the road.

The new rules put workers into two team-based classes: technical specialist and production specialist.

The work rules and proposed plants are modeled after the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance, or GEMA, facility in Dundee. That operation is a joint venture among DaimlerChrysler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.