Sources said the Pontiac lease is expected to provide space so GM can move operations currently housed in its Orion Assembly plant, which produces the Chevy Bolt EV. The AMC property, if the deal comes to fruition, would be for Factory Zero, GM’s EV plant near I-75 and I-94 previously known as the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant.
In addition, a subsidiary of Detroit-based James Group Inc. has signed a lease for a 742,000-square-foot warehouse in Wixom on the site of the former Ford Motor Co. Wixom Assembly Plant, where the company aims to store and ship car parts for GM.
In all, that marks at least 2.2 million square feet of new space leased directly to GM or tied to the automaker.
Last week, Conder said at a Detroit Homecoming event that NorthPoint’s purchase of the AMC site from the city is expected to close Oct. 6.
The hulking property at 14250 Plymouth Road closed 12 years ago. NorthPoint plans to construct either a pair of warehouse/light industrial buildings — one with 513,000 square feet and another with 215,000 square feet — or one such building totaling 761,000 square feet.
NorthPoint’s plan was announced in December.
Some in the historic preservation community have been concerned about the plan to tear down the building’s Art Deco-style tower; Conder has said that reusing portions of the building — which is not on the National Register of Historic Places — is cost-prohibitive.