Foxconn Technology Group will submit site plans to Mount Pleasant for the first portions of its massive LCD panel manufacturing campus by Friday under the terms of an agreement approved Monday night by the Mount Pleasant Village Board.
The plans will be the most detailed look at the facilities that Foxconn intends to build. The company has said it would be constructing four facilities including a thin-film transistor liquid crystal display plant, a back-end liquid crystal display module packaging operation, a facility focused on molding and tool and die work and a facility for assembly of final products.
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The agreement also requires the Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer to begin construction on its initial facilities by Jan. 1, 2019. The company would then have seven years to complete the $10 billion project.
The Mount Pleasant Village Board and Community Development Authority approved the agreement Monday. The Racine County Board is scheduled to vote on the deal tonight. The joint review board will give final approval to the agreement and related $764 million tax increment financing district.
In a statement, Mount Pleasant village president Dave DeGroot called Monday’s approval “a significant step forward” that outlines responsibilities for the company, village and county while also protecting taxpayers.
“The agreement ensures that the project is fully funded through Foxconn investments, protecting village taxpayers and fully capitalizing on this once-in-a-generation opportunity for our community,” DeGroot said.
The local package sets up a TIF district that covers 3,821 acres. It allocates $168 million towards land acquisition, $88.4 million to water infrastructure, $71.4 million for sewer and $11.5 million for road improvements.
It also offers Foxconn a $100 million development incentive available over a 10-year period. The company is also funding land acquisition through a $60 million cash investment and special assessment payments. Foxconn is also providing a guarantee that the district will add $1.4 billion in value by 2023 and will pay the difference in taxes if there is a shortfall.
The local package follows the approval earlier this month of a $3 billion state incentive package. Gov. Scott Walker and Foxconn chairman Terry Gou signed that deal, which includes a personal guarantee from Gou, at S.C. Johnson & Son’s headquarters in Racine.
While the local approvals will likely be complete this week, there is still plenty of work to complete. The state Department of Transportation is planning $134 million in improvements to local roads in the area, while seeking federal money to support the expansion of Interstate 94. The village is also working with the city of Racine to extend water service out to the project area.
The Racine County Economic Development Corp. is working with the village to acquire nearly 2,900 acres of land that will be home to Foxconn’s factories, suppliers and a future expansion. As of Nov. 20, about 58 percent of the acreage included in the three project areas is under option to purchase.
About 82 percent of the acreage designated for Foxconn’s initial plant – referred to as Area I and located south of Braun Road, west of Highway H, north of Highway KR and east of Interstate 94 – is under option to purchase.
The developer’s agreement estimates it will ultimately cost $76 million to acquire all of the land in Area I. The figure puts the average cost for the 1,198 acres included in the area at $63,433 per acre.
The agreement gives the village a Dec. 29 deadline to exercise all of its options and an Aug. 1, 2018 deadline to acquire the additional parcels in the entire project area.
