CHICAGO — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has signed into law a pair of bills to create a large tax-free industrial zone in Detroit, an effort that supporters say will boost employment and investment in the city.
Senate Bill 398 and House Bill 4783, signed last week, allow the Michigan Strategic Fund Board to create a 150-acre tax free industrial park on vacant land near the Detroit City Airport.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan told local reporters he has hopes to attract automakers and suppliers to the space.
"My administration has already been negotiating with the [United Auto Workers], the Big Three and automotive suppliers to relocate jobs from other countries to a proposed new industrial park on this land," Duggan said, according to the Associated Press.
Technically, the new law allows the strategic fund to create a new development corporation called the Next Michigan Development Corp. There are five development corporations so far in Michigan, and the new one will be the first in Detroit.
"Creating opportunities for additional economic development and investment helps continue Michigan's growth and comeback," said Snyder in a press release. "Adding a Next Michigan Development Corp. in Detroit will help create jobs and opportunities in the city as it moves forward."