Warren Mayor Alludes To Major Corporate Investment, GM Announces Renovation Plans At Tech Center

WARREN (WWJ/AP) - The future of corporate investment was the focus of Warren Mayor Jim Fouts' State of the City speech.

Fouts spoke of a future one billion dollar investment in the city of Warren without naming the corporation reports WWJ's Vickie Thomas.

"It's going to be the biggest non-manufacturing development of its kind in Michigan, in Warren and maybe in North America, so it's pretty exciting, I'm excited about it."

Although exactly what 'it' is Fouts says he's can't tell. "I've been sworn to secrecy," it's not a done deal yet.

Fouts says that approximately 3,000 jobs will come with the new development, adding that the project would transform the face of his city of 134,000. He said he expected the terms of the project to be determined in May.

"I thought the mayor did a great job," said attorney Randy Wright, who was in the audience.

The State of the City speech comes as General Motors talks of looking into renovation and possible expansion at its Tech Center in Warren.

GM's technical center, built in the 1950s with low-rise buildings, several concrete lakes and miles of roadways, is well maintained but looks dated. The company for years has wanted to upgrade the facilities to better compete for technical talent with Silicon Valley and other firms that have nicer workplaces.

GM spokesman Dan Flores on Thursday confirmed that the company has submitted a request for a tax break from Warren for a major construction project to renovate and upgrade the technical center.

"It's no surprise that the tech center is in need of some restoration and renovation to kind of bring it back up to state-of-the-art," Flores said. He said the project has not yet been given final approval by GM senior management.

GM already has begun bringing thousands of computer experts to Warren as one of four information technology centers nationwide that are being set up to develop software for new vehicles and other purposes. The company also has consolidated 23 data centers globally into two, including Warren, and it's likely to expand design and engineering work on the huge campus.

The company bought a building across the street from the tech center that housed its former advertising agency for years. That building is now being renovated and likely will be used to house teams of people as their buildings are being upgraded on the tech center site.

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