MARSHALL, MI (WNWN/WTVB) – The Michigan Strategic Fund has awarded $65 million to the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance for future development of land near the Ford Blue Oval Battery Park.
The money will be used for the Marshall Area Jobs, Opportunities and Recreation Campus, otherwise known as MAJOR.
The funding announcement came one day after Ford said it was pausing construction on their BlueOval Battery Park as contract talks between the United Auto Workers union and the Big Three continue. The union wants to represent workers at battery factories.
Besides future development of the MAJOR Campus, the money will be used for infrastructure at the site for both Ford and future projects clustered near BlueOval.
The MAJOR Campus is 2,000 acres and BlueOval Battery Park Michigan will take up 745 acres.
MAEDA Chief Executive Officer Jim Durian welcomed the news. He said in a press release, “Investment in this campus now will allow us to have a site ready for future suppliers and new businesses – and that means even more local jobs in Marshall long into the future. We are confident Ford’s BlueOval Battery Park will be a magnet for new investment and will spark new small businesses and we applaud state and local leaders for helping to ensure the vehicles of the future are built here in Michigan and the advanced manufacturing facilities of the future are built here in Michigan.”
Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told the Detroit Free Press on Monday, “We’re pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall site, effective today, until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant. We haven’t made any final decision about the planned investment there.”
