The village of Mount Pleasant says it has secured nearly 70 percent of the land needed for Foxconn Technology Group’s $10 billion LCD manufacturing campus and related developments after approving offers on roughly 300 acres Monday night.
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The village board signed off on offers from more than a dozen property owners totaling about 300 acres. The offers generally matched the terms the village has offered to other land owners, according to a spokesman. Those terms include $50,000 an acre for vacant land and 140 percent of fair market value for homeowners.
Reaching agreements on another 300 acres will give the village roughly 2,000 acres under control once the deals close. The entire Foxconn project area is around 2,900 acres.
“This is great news as we plan for a groundbreaking and look forward to continued growth and development within the project area,” said Dave DeGroot, Mount Pleasant village president.
Not all property owners in the project area have seen the land acquisitions as good news. The owners of seven properties that combine to total 18 acres are suing the village, alleging their rights to equal protection, private property and due process are being violated. They argue they are going to be paid “a fraction” of what similarly situated neighbors will receive.
The village has sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, arguing the claims made by the property owners can’t be made until the state eminent domain process has played out.
At the same time, work is moving ahead on a variety of infrastructure projects to support the Foxconn development. The state Department of Transportation, which took over work on local roads in the area around Foxconn, announced Highway H would be closed between Highway KR and Braun Road starting on March 5. The closure is intended to allow American Transmission Co. to complete utility work on Highway H. The work is expected to be done by March 23.
The Foxconn plant itself is expected to use 230 megawatts of electricity and ATC is planning $117 million in upgrades to its system to support the increased demand. Those plans include the construction of a new substation on the east side of Highway H. Power lines will then go under the road to connect to Foxconn’s own substation on the company’s campus.
