http://www.enterprisegroup.org en dkelly@enterprisegroup.org Copyright 2010 2010-08-16T10:31:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/738 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/the-michigan-by-rail-forum-on-august-26-2010/#When:10:31:00Z The Michigan By Rail Public Forum in Jackson will be held on August 26, 2010, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Michigan Theatre. Please join Congressman Mark Schauer (confirmed), Barabara McCallahan (Director of Community Affairs for U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow), Sen Randy Richardville (invited) and Sen Mike Nofs (invited), as well as other elected officials and your fellow citizens for the Jackson Michigan by Rail Public Forum. The Michigan by Rail Forum in Jackson is part of a series of public forums taking place throughout the state to engage citizens on a vision for the future of Michigans freight and passenger rail system. The event will include an overview of the existing system; an interactive rail mapping session; discussion of financing issues and a big-picture vision of the future of Michigans railroad system. Forums will also be held in Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Dearborn, Detroit, Traverse City, Grand Rapids, Holland, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Battle Creek, Royal Oak, and St. Joseph/Benton Harbor. Please participate and make your voice heard. Partners for this forum are: Michigan Environmental Council Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the International Brotherhod of Teamsters United Transportation Union FACEBOOK EVENT: http://bit.ly/MIbyRailJXN CONTACT: Tim Fischer (517) 487-9539 tim@environmentalcouncil.org The Michigan Theatre in Jackson is located at 124 North Mechanic St. in downtown Jackson News 2010-08-16T10:31:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/736 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/official-works-to-make-park-vision-a-reality/#When:14:28:00Z By Keith Roberts Jackson Citizen Patriot Sunday, August 8, 2010 When most people look at the former Riverwalk Plaza Hotel in downtown Jackson, they see a big, empty building. Scott Fleming sees a riverfront park and recreation hub in its place. Share Fleming said he had a vision of the park two years ago after he was hired as president and CEO of The Enterprise Group of Jackson. ‘You have an asset, the river--and all communities highlight their assets --and I was surprised Jackson was hiding it,’ Fleming said. Fleming said the park would provide access to the Grand River and link the Intercity Trail and the Grand River ArtsWalk, which is under construction. The park would also complement plans to redevelop the west end of downtown, Fleming said. Fleming has been working with officials from Jackson County, which owns the hotel, and Allegiance Health, which owns the One Jackson Square office building next door, to make his vision a reality. A drawing of the park shows a fountain, boardwalk, canoe landing, bicycle rental building, food stand and vendor huts. Hendrik Schuur, director of treasury services for Allegiance Health, said the drawing ‘shows what could be.’ In recent years Lansing and Grand Rapids have revived their downtowns by returning their focus to the Grand River, and Schuur said Jackson could do the same. ‘I think this is a wonderful opportunity for downtown to kind of reinvent itself,’ Schuur said. Tearing it down The 11-story hotel opened as a Sheraton Inn in 1976 and closed in 1988. It reopened as the Riverwalk Plaza Hotel in 2000 and closed again in 2003. It was foreclosed in 2008 and Jackson County obtained control over it. County officials have been talking about tearing down the hotel, but they don’t have the money-- up to $2 million-- so Fleming is trying to arrange funding. Fleming has been talking to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow , D.--Mich., about getting a federal appropriation to cover the bulk of the demolition costs and looking for local funding and grants to cover the balance. Fleming also said the county might be able to get a deal on the work judging by The Enterprise Group’s recent experience with the demolition of the Acme Industries complex. In 2005 bids to demolish the complex, part of Jackson’s prison factory system, ranged from $500,000 to $750,000. But when the demolition was rebid this year, the low bid was $250,000 because the construction company wanted the work, Fleming said. In addition, city officials want to tear down the former Consumers Energy headquarters up the hill and if county officials could tear down the hotel at the same time they could get a two-for-one price, Fleming said. Last year, Jackson County Administrator Randy Treacher said he didn’t think the park would happen because it would cost too much. But now he says if the building can be torn down in a year or two the park could be developed in phases as funding becomes available. ‘I don’t think anyone wants to see that building sit there,’ Treacher said. ‘Atrocious’ building Jackson City Councilman Andrew Frounfelker lives in an apartment across the street from the hotel. Frounfelker said the hotel looks ‘atrocious’ and it’s time to ‘start correcting our skyline.’ Frounfelker said the park would add greenspace to downtown, improve the view of the river and tie in with the walkway on the CMS Energy campus. ‘It’s a way to renew our landscape a little,’ Frounfelker said. ‘It gives us a different perspective rather than concrete and blacktop.’ Scott TenBrink, executive director of the Fitness Council of Jackson, believes the park would give downtown a new look and feel. ‘What I like about it is it builds on this active, healthy living, downtown vibe and at the same time really focuses on the waterfront,’ TenBrink said. TenBrink and Todd Zeller, president of the Friends of the Falling Waters Trail, said such a park could be the halfway point on a trail that would cross the state from Port Huron to South Haven. ‘The state is slowly being connected,’ Zeller said. ‘We could be a tourist destination if we keep working on that.’ Our green space Patrick Gillespie, president and CEO of the Gillespie Group of East Lansing, said the park would fit well with his plans to redevelop the west end of downtown. ‘People always say, ‘Where is your green space?’ Gillespie said. ‘That would be our green space.’ Gillespie is planning a mixed-use redevelopment of the former Hayes Hotel and the surrounding area, which he calls the Carnegie District. He is also working with Independent Choice, a group of physicians, to tear down the former Consumers Energy headquarters and build a medical office center there. Gillespie knows what trails can do for downtowns. His company is known for its condominiums in Lansing’s stadium district just down the street from the Lansing River Trail. Gillespie said the trail has brought more attention to the river and more people and businesses to downtown. ‘It’s like a pedestrian thoroughfare that gets people off the street,’ Gillespie said. Murdock Jemerson, director of the Lansing Parks and Recreation Department, said the trail also helps Realtors sell homes and not just downtown. ‘Close to the river trail’-- that phrase comes out a lot in their listings because they see it as an asset,’ Jemerson said. River connection Jonathan Hoover, president of the Grand River Environmental Action Team, said the park would make the river ‘a part of the city in a way it never has been before.’ Hoover said if people had better access to the river, they would protect it more. ‘It would certainly dramatize the need to keep the river clean and respected as a wonderful natural resource in downtown Jackson,’ Hoover said. Jim Seitz, past president of GREAT, said members of the Grand River Expedition were impressed with the view from the river and its condition when they paddled their canoes and kayaks through downtown last month. ‘We’re just starting to realize the potential of the river,’ Seitz said. Brandon Ransom, the city and county parks director, said the park would restore the riverfront to its rightful place in the city. Removing the cap that covered the Grand River from Louis Glick Highway to Mechanic Street a decade ago was a good first step, but the park would take it to another level, Ransom said. ‘It would be great for Jackson, instead of hiding away our resource, to focus in on it and bring it to people’s attention,’ Ransom said. News 2010-08-11T14:28:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/723 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/blackman-township-officials-moving-ahead-with-plans-to-bring-businesses-to-/#When:17:54:00Z Blackman Township officials moving ahead with plans to bring businesses to Downtown Development Authority District By Keith Roberts Jackson Citizen Patriot Thursday, July 15, 2010 Blackman Township officials are moving ahead with plans to bring businesses to their Downtown Development Authority District with or without Ramco-Gershenson. The township is seeking to issue $3.5 million in economic development bonds to buy about 28 acres north of I-94 and west of U.S. 127. Blackman Township Supervisor Robert Rando, who is chairman of the DDA, said buying the land will help Ramco-Gershenson or another company develop the site faster. Share “I want to see it right now,” Rando said. Ramco-Gershenson, which owns Jackson Crossing, proposed putting an upscale, open-air shopping mall on the site in 2006, but has put those plans on hold to focus on developments that could offer a quicker return. The township has been trying to buy the land from the North family and went to Circuit Court to determine its value. The North family owned what was the Holiday Inn of Jackson along U.S. 127 and land surrounding it. The hotel is now the Avalon Hotel and Conference Center. Attorney Eric White, who represents the township, said the parties recently reached a $3.5 million settlement that covers the purchase of the property and the court costs. The township is seeking authorization from Jackson County to issue the bonds. The county was allotted $11.5 million in bonds through the Recovery Zone Bond Program, part of the federal stimulus plan intended to help public entities pay for improvement projects. Rando said the township would pay off the bonds over 20 years with taxes captured from the Downtown Development Authority District. This just gives us another tool, Rando said. Steve Shotwell, chairman of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners and a DDA member, expects the county board to authorize the bond issue next week. Everyone seems to see the purpose and understand the reason to go forward, Shotwell said. In March the county board authorized Jackson Public Schools to issue $7.4 million in economic development bonds to renovate school buildings and grounds. Shotwell said county officials have stayed in touch with Ramco-Gershenson and the company is still interested in the development but would like the township to resolve the property issues first. NOTE: The Enterprise Group of Jackson provides staffing services to the Blackman DDA. News 2010-07-15T17:54:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/700 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/limits-set-on-tax-captures/#When:10:13:00Z Jackson-area government entities to set limits on tax captures By Brad Flory Jackson Citizen Patriot May 16, 2010 The theory of growth for 20 years in Jackson County assumed everyone wins when local governments give up tax money to create jobs. Today, the win-win theory is cracked and crumbling. Three units of government—Jackson County, Jackson Community College and Jackson District Library—have set limits on sacrifices they will accept in the name of economic development. Between the three, they lose about $2.2 million a year in property tax that is either captured or not collected. ‘Originally, the policy of the college was automatic approval of these things with no questions asked’, said Edward Mathein, board chairman at JCC, which enacted new policies in January. ‘We cannot afford to do that anymore.’ Ishwar Laxminarayan, director of Jackson District Library, said Michigan libraries lose more than $10 million a year in taxes captured for job-creating programs. ‘We are absolutely concerned that we will lose more and more money’, Laxminarayan said. Several millions of dollars in local property tax are captured or never collected each year in Jackson County—but most of it is not exactly lost. School districts, including the Intermediate School District, are reimbursed by state government for any losses. Educators are happy to be made whole, but they suspect Lansing’s obligation to make reimbursements must affect education funding at least indirectly. ‘It takes money out of the pot, so there is less money to go around’, said William Hannon, deputy superintendent for finance and operations at Jackson Public Schools. City, villages and townships also lose money, but typically they create tax captures for purposes they deem important. Losses are more direct for other units of local government. Jackson County government pegs its loss at $1.6 million a year. The District Library loss is an estimated $300,000 a year. JCC would lose slightly less than that figure. Renaissance zones, where companies pay virtually no property tax, account for a large share of those tax losses. Properties with $120 million in taxable value are located in 11 renaissance zones, mostly of a type designed for tool and die shops, in Jackson County. Factory properties worth another $133 million in taxable value pay half the normal tax bill because they have Industrial Facilities Tax abatements. Many other companies pay their full property tax bill, but some or all of the money is diverted from normal government services. Taxes are typically captured from a geographic district, a process usually overseen by downtown development authorities or local development finance authorities. Instead of passing it on to governments that levy taxes, the authorities use captured tax money to pay for projects or improvements within the district. Jackson County has 15 tax captures in the city and various villages and townships. Countywide taxes are captured from property with taxable value totaling $125 million. Critics say the job-creating mission of tax captures can grow vague and open-ended over time. ‘These things go on forever’, Randy Treacher, Jackson County administrator said. ‘They are supposed to go away, but they never do. It is not that any money is misspent or misappropriated by anyone’, he said. ‘Our concern is it is not being spent for the original intent.’ The first local development finance authority formed in Jackson County was created by the village of Parma in 1988 to help bring the MACI plant to Sandstone Township. MACI taxes were captured to pay off 15-year bonds that financed water, sewer and roads to the plant site. Fifteen years passed, but the tax capture continues. Today, the local development finance authority exists to acquire and improve land for the Parma-Sandstone Industrial Park, and the tax capture will continue at least 11 more years. In 2002, the LDFA took on a new debt to improve the village of Parma’s water system. It still owes $1.8 million in payments spread out to 2021. Its most recent annual report says the Parma LDFA captured $582,855 in property taxes, almost all from MACI, in 2008. It spent $183,654 on bond payments and other expenses. The remaining $399,201 was distributed back to taxing units like county government. Beginning about four years ago, local governments began enacting policies to automatically opt out of all new tax captures. They have no legal power to opt out of renaissance zones or tax abatements. County government, which started the trend, has since refused to participate in one new DDA, two expanded ones and a SmartZone in Blackman Township. Jackson District Library later followed suit by enacting a similar policy. ‘We are not going to be a part of anything that is totally unlimited and has no end date’, Laxminarayan said. ‘The more we get into these long-term situations, we lose more and more control.’ JCC board members decided in January to opt out unless two conditions are met: New jobs created must pay 150 percent of minimum wage and college taxes cannot be taken for more than 10 years. Leaders of the college, county and library all stressed that they will still consider supporting economic-development projects on a case-by-case basis. But they will do it only under negotiated terms that include a time limit for giving up taxes. The familiar idea that government does not lose anything when taxes are captured from new companies has become a point of debate. ‘The theory behind it is, if you don’t have that tax money now, you don’t lose it’, said Amy Torres, economic development director for the Enterprise Group in Jackson. ‘Fifty percent of something is better than 100 percent of nothing’, she said. Treacher responded, ‘How do you know who would be here and who wouldn’t (without tax incentives)? Treacher said. How do you know every factory would still be a corn field?’ Philosophy aside, tight budgets probably force leaders at all levels of government to seek all the money they can claim. ‘There would probably be less concern if property values and revenues were not falling’, Mathein said. Torres expressed sympathy for local governments facing tight finances, but she said the trend can only hurt efforts to attract jobs. ‘If everyone opts out, you are a little limited in what you can do to attract employers’, Torres said. ‘It comes back to the philosophical argument over whether tax incentives are good or bad. But if Jackson County or the state of Michigan stops using incentives, they will lose unless everyone else quits doing it, too’. Details Tax captures—Officially called tax increment financing, a portion of property tax paid in a geographic district is diverted from normal government services to finance projects in the district. SmartZone—A specialized tax capture to attract firms in alternative energy, life sciences and advanced manufacturing. Another special-purpose tax capture used in Jackson County is Brownfield redevelopment. Renaissance zones—Businesses that locate in distressed Renaissance Zones pay virtually no property tax for 12 years. Zones specific to tool-and-die businesses are used in Jackson and six surrounding townships. Industrial Facility Tax—A discount, typically 50 percent, on property tax factories pay for new construction or equipment. Tax breaks in Jackson also go to non-industrial properties through programs to rehabilitate obsolete buildings and create neighborhood enterprise zones. News 2010-05-16T10:13:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/691 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/armory-arts-village-preparing-to-reopen-gallery-begin-warm-weather-scheduli/#When:15:16:00Z By Bill Chapin | Jackson Citizen Patriot Friday, April 23, 2010 Armory Arts Village, 100 Armory Court, will celebrate the arrival of spring and relatively warmer temperatures with the reopening of the its gallery space. There will be a reception from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 30. The gallery will have work on display by Armory Arts Village residents, adult students and children who take classes at the complex, and other Jackson artists. Regular gallery hours are from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday through November. The gift shop also is open during those hours. Beginning in May, Fourth Friday celebrations will resume. The building will be open until 8:30 p.m. on the fourth Friday of each month for art viewing and special activities. A historic tour will begin at 6 p.m. each month. Tours are also available by appointment on other dates. There is no charge to view the gallery. Historic tours are $8. For more information, call 795-2112.  News 2010-04-23T15:16:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/690 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/tenneco-expansion-to-add-jobs/#When:15:09:00Z By Chris Gautz | Jackson Citizen Patriot Wednesday, April 21, 2010 Tenneco plans to invest $3.5 million into its Grass Lake engineering facility after receiving a Michigan Economic Growth Authority tax credit Tuesday morning. The Illinois-based company, which manufacturers automotive emission and ride control products around the world, will invest a total of $15.6 million by the end of 2011 in Michigan as it expands to make components for gas and diesel pickups, SUVs and crossover vehicles at four of its plants. The tax credit is worth $1.8 million over seven years, and the state says it will lead to the creation of up to 185 jobs at its sites in Litchfield, Marshall, Monroe and Grass Lake. In order to receive the full amount of the credit, Tenneco has to create the 185 jobs by next year and maintain them through 2017. The majority of the jobs will go to the Litchfield and Marshall plants, where the company does the manufacturing of its emission control products, Tenneco Spokesman Jim Spangler said. “We will start hiring immediately,” he said. The sites in Monroe and Grass Lake are engineering facilities. Spangler said he did not know how many of the jobs will come to Grass Lake. Its secluded 208-acre campus in Grass Lake has about 300 employees at its 140,000-square-foot facility, which features high-tech acoustics testing and validation labs and an outdoor test track. Spangler said the investment in the Grass Lake facility will be used to purchase additional equipment to support technology development and the industrialization of the new diesel emission products. Spangler said they are proud of the work done in Grass Lake and will continue to invest in the facility. “It’s critically to our long-term success,” he said. Scott Fleming, president and CEO of The Enterprise Group, the county’s economic-development agency, said this is good news for the area, and it will likely lead to indirect jobs. “I’m always glad to celebrate these little victories here and there,” he said. According to the Enterprise Group, Grass Lake Township anticipates giving up $38,220 in taxes per year to support the project. Township Supervisor Jim Stormont said Tenneco has to file an application with the township for the tax abatement, and the board will look to determine whether it will qualify for the full 12-year, 50 percent abatement. The issue would likely come up at their next regular board meeting on May 11. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said in a statement that the state tax credit was used to encourage Tenneco to bring the jobs to Michigan rather than to its facilities in either Nebraska or Tennessee. Spangler said it wasn’t a situation where the company was looking to one state over another. “It just made perfect sense that we bring this business to Michigan,” he said. News 2010-04-23T15:09:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/681 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/adco-products-will-expand-operations-in-jackson-county-move-will-create-mor/#When:10:29:00Z By Chris Gautz/J. Scott Park Jackson Citizen Patriot March 17, 2010 In the next five years, more than 200 jobs will come to Michigan Center. ADCO Products President Glenn Frommer confirmed Wednesday the company chose to locate its expansion project at its plant here, rather than at an existing site in Evansville, Ind. On Tuesday, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a five-year, $1.2 million tax credit to make the deal happen. Frommer said the company made the decision after receiving approval of the tax credit from the state. Leoni Township has also approved a 12-year tax abatement on the company’s real and personal property, estimated at $557,000 in tax savings over a 15-year span. ADCO Products makes adhesives and sealants used in the automotive and construction industries and plans to make a $17.3 million investment in the photovoltaic panel adhesive market to further establish itself in the solar panel industry. As part of the deal, ADCO will consolidate its operations in Evansville, and employees there were notified of the plans Wednesday. Frommer said the consolidation will take place in a structured way throughout the year and will be completed by year’s end. Some employees in Indiana will be offered jobs here, he said. “We have a lot of very experienced capable people,” Frommer said. The union shop will be hiring locally to fill the rest of the jobs. He said ADCO chose Michigan Center over Evansville, because the area has a very capable workforce and access to young graduates. The work they will be doing in the solar panel market will require both blue and white collar workers, he said. “We see an opportunity to not only manufacture products, but develop new value-added technology,” he said. According to the MEGA, the average weekly wage for the new jobs is expected to be $577, along with health care benefits. The company has 158 employees now. ADCO’s facility in Leoni Township has centered on making products for the automotive, maritime and architectural industries. Frommer said the company is in the process of expanding and changing the footprint of its facility at 4401 Page Ave. to accommodate all the new workers and equipment. For more information, visit www.adcocorp.com.  News 2010-03-18T10:29:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/682 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/jackson-county-board-approves-giving-74-million-in-bonds-to-jackson-public-/#When:10:33:00Z By Holly Klaft Jackson Citizen Patriot March 17, 2010 Jackson Public Schools will be the first to take advantage of low-interest federal bonds available to public entities in Jackson County. The county Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved giving JPS $7.4 million in economic development bonds for planned renovations to school buildings and grounds. The county had $11.5 million available in economic development bonds through the Recovery Zone Bond Program — a part of the federal stimulus plan. Those bonds are intended to help public entities, such as schools or governments, pay for improvement projects. About $17.2 million in tax-exempt Recovery Zone Facility bonds also are available to private businesses for projects that could create jobs. The bonds must be issued by the end of the year. Bill Hannon, deputy superintendent for finance and operations at JPS, said using the low-interest bonds will result in a lower cost to taxpayers, who in November 2009 approved a $16.6 million bond proposal for renovations in the district. JPS is still waiting to hear whether it was awarded as much as $15 million in Qualified School Construction bonds — another federal stimulus program that could reduce the cost to taxpayers, Hannon said. If the district is awarded the $15 million in bonds, it will return the economic development bond money it doesn’t need to the county, he said. The bond money must be paid back once it is used, but the program is a good tool for development, said Scott Fleming, CEO of The Enterprise Group, the county’s economic-development agency. JPS officials contacted the Economic Development Corp. of Jackson County — an arm of county government that is run by The Enterprise Group — to express interest in obtaining the bonds. Renovation projects planned for JPS include: replacing roofs, improving classroom ventilation, building a fitness center and upgrading athletic fields. The district also plans to buy new buses, classroom projectors, computers and video-conferencing equipment. The board in August approved designating the entire county as a Recovery Zone to make all local businesses and public entities eligible for financing through the program. The entire county qualified as a Recovery Zone — typically considered an area with significant poverty, unemployment and home foreclosure rates — because of the state of the local economy. County Commissioner Jon Williams said it made sense for the board to allocate the bonds to JPS. “The savings could be passed on to the citizens,” Williams said.  News 2010-03-17T10:33:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/683 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/adco-products-in-jackson-county-awarded-tax-credit-which-may-lead-to-212-ne/#When:22:36:00Z By Chris Gautz Jackson Citizen Patriot March 16, 2010 A Michigan Center company that made its mark in the automotive industry is venturing further into the solar panel market — and with the help of a lucrative state tax credit, may add 212 jobs in the next five years. ADCO Products, 4401 Page Ave., makes adhesives and sealants used in the automotive and construction industries and plans to make a $17.3 million investment in the photovoltaic panel adhesive market its solar panel business by consolidating existing facilities in either Michigan or Indiana. This morning, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a five-year, $1.2 million tax credit to encourage the company to bring the work here. According to the MEGA, the company is also considering an investment in Evansville, Ind. “I’m ecstatic,” said Scott Fleming, president and CEO of The Enterprise Group, the county’s economic-development agency. This project would be larger than all of the investment in base jobs the EG calculated in the county in 2009, Fleming said. “We did not have a banner year (in 2009),” Fleming said. Fleming credited Amy Torres, director of economic development for the EG, and Ed Reed, business development manager for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, with helping to put the deal together. Fleming said there are several other Jackson County companies looking at expansion projects as well. “We’re seeing some positive things happen,” Fleming said. Leoni Township Supervisor Todd Brittain said this could mean more jobs for the area and that is welcome news. “We’ve had some bad news previously, but things are starting to look a lot better,” Brittain said. At last week’s Leoni Township board meeting, the township approved a 12-year tax abatement on the company’s real and personal property, estimated at $557,000 in tax savings over a 15-year span. According to the MEGA, the average weekly wage for the new jobs is expected to be $577, along with health care benefits. The company has 158 employees now in Michigan and also has locations in Indiana and Ohio. ADCO’s facility in Leoni Township centered on making products for the automotive, maritime and architectural industries, the document said. ADCO got into the solar panel market three years ago and produces more than 50 products with solar applications. In 2005, ADCO received a tax break on a $1 million investment in new equipment. The Leoni Township Board at the time granted the company a 50 percent industrial facilities tax exemption over eight years based on a formula that considered the size of the investment and that the company would retain its then-207 jobs. For more information, visit www.adcocorp.com.  News 2010-03-16T22:36:00-05:00 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/news-story/674 http://www.enterprisegroup.org/index.php/site/performance-automotives-12-million-investment-in-jackson-expected-to-create/#When:15:06:00Z By Keith Roberts Jackson Citizen Patriot Thursday, March 11, 2010 Performance Automotive, a locally owned and operated auto parts supplier, plans to invest $1.2 million in a new warehouse and create 30 jobs. The warehouse will be in a 40,000-square-foot building at 546 N. Mechanic St., about two blocks south of Armory Arts Village. “We’re excited to be participating in the renovation of this neighborhood, and can’t wait to open the facility this summer,” Tim Stone, president of Performance Automotive, said in a news release issued by The Enterprise Group of Jackson. Jackson Mayor Karen Dunigan said she is pleased a local company is expanding. “Every job is an important one right now,” Dunigan said. Dunigan also commended The Enterprise Group, the county’s economic-development agency; Barry Hicks, the city’s economic development project manager; and the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for helping the company deal with environmental issues at the site. “It’s a great working relationship,” Dunigan said. Performance Automotive will receive a $19,000 grant from the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to help pay environmental-assessment costs. Performance Automotive, a privately owned corporation, was founded in Jackson in 1971 as an automotive performance parts store and now offers complete lines of repair parts. In addition to the warehouse, Performance Automotive has retail locations at 317 W. Prospect St. and 3300 E. Michigan Ave. in Jackson, and stores in Albion, Adrian and Tecumseh. Performance Automotive Northwest, Hillsdale, and Jonesville are separate companies from Performance Automotive, but were originally part of the same group.  News 2010-03-11T15:06:00-05:00