Village of Mount Pleasant Joint Review Board unanimously approved the creation of a special tax incremental district for Foxconn Wednesday.
This approval happened just two days after both the Village of Mount Pleasant and Racine County Boards also unanimously approved the local agreement. Foxconn is set to review the development deal Friday with the expectation to sign it, according to the Mount Pleasant Journal Times.
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Foxconn plans to invest nearly $10 billion to create an approximately 20 million square feet factory between Interstate 94 and Highway H-County Road in Mount Pleasant.
The nearly $3 billion agreement would be the largest greenfield investment by a foreign-based company in U.S. history as measured by the number of jobs, according to the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Under the new agreement, Foxconn’s investment into the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) revenue would cover the public land renovations and development projects for the development of the factory.
Village of Mount Pleasant Board President Dave DeGroot said these sorts of investments were a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” for his local community.
“This is a significant step forward for the project, and I am proud of my colleagues on the Village Board for their leadership in pursuing what is best for the future of our Village,” DeGroot said in a statement.
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The new deal also requires the majority of the 13,000 full-time jobs to be sourced from citizens living in Racine County. The County must also invest funds to support business facilities that would help recruit workers and trade apprenticeship programs to ensure a quality workforce.
The County would invest almost $3 million in 2018, with additional $1 million installments each year between 2019 to 2021, according to the agreement.
Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said these details outlined in the local deal are guaranteed key protections for residents of the region.
“This is a major step forward for what will be a truly transformational project, bringing unprecedented private investment to our community, and thousands of new jobs,” said Delagrave in a statement. “The protections and guarantees outlined in this agreement ensure Racine County taxpayers will benefit from this unprecedented development.”
By Dec. 1, the Village of Mount Pleasant and Racine County said they expect to receive final site plans for the Area 1 factory of the project. The entire project is set to begin in early spring 2018 and is projected to be completed and operational by 2020.
