Detroit, Mich. – A former Detroit high school and elementary school will house a new manufacturing facility in Detroit.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, Dakkota Integrated Systems President and CEO Andra Rush along with Walbridge, Devon Industrial Group and other city and community leaders announced a 600,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at the site of Kettering High School and Rose Elementary School on Detroit’s east side on Tuesday, July 9.
The facility will help supply parts to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Walbridge has been selected as the developer for the project.
“We’re excited to bring good manufacturing jobs to the east side of Detroit,” Rush said. “Our mission is to profitably create jobs and develop top talent, all while exceeding our customer’s expectations. We’re so proud to support FCA, provide employment opportunities in Detroit, and showcase world-class quality auto parts built by hardworking Detroiters. We appreciate the mayor and his team for helping us make this happen. This is a win for all parties.”
Dakkota Integrated System’s new facility will create 625 jobs in the area and the company is interviewing Detroit residents first as part of the hiring process.
“This is the city that we are trying to build,” Duggan said to reporters, local officials and those among the project team during the groundbreaking event.
Standing outside of the Kettering “K,” officials discussed the investment on the 32-acre site during the Tuesday event.
Walbridge, founded in Detroit in 1916, has extensive experience with the redevelopment of industrial Brownfield sites within the commercial market.
In the past 25 years, Walbridge has developed, co-developed or invested in more than $1 billion worth of real estate assets. The company has taken on redevelopment projects that have benefited various communities including successfully transforming multiple automotive manufacturing plants and Brownfield sites into sustainably redesigned business parks and modern manufacturing facilities.
“Our partnership with Dakkota Integrated Systems is an exciting one that will bring a major impact to the east side of Detroit,” Adorno Piccinini, Walbridge’s Assistant Vice President of Real Estate Development. “As a Detroit-based business, Walbridge is excited to see this positive undertaking for Dakkota, Detroit, job-seekers and area residents.”
Walbridge (www.walbridge.com) is a privately held company founded in Detroit in 1916. Providing development services since 1990, Walbridge is committed to meeting clients’ goals and objectives by providing exceptional services that exceed expectations for site planning, design, budgeting, scheduling, and operations. The company also offers construction management, design-build, general contracting and related services for customers in a broad range of fields including automotive, aviation, commercial, education, industrial manufacturing, mission critical, power and energy, and water/waste water. Walbridge employs 1,000 professionals who are committed to sustainable construction and maintaining injury-free workplaces.