The Ohio-based auto parts supplier relocating to Spring Hill, known as “Project Buckeye,” wants to expand its construction plans by 36 percent after learning General Motors is granting the company more work.
The Spring Hill Planning Commission has scheduled a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, to consider expansion plans for the building the company will construct on Beechcroft Road alongside parts maker, Magna International, which already has laid a 120,000-square-foot foundation.
Planning commissioners approved plans in July for “Project Buckeye,” which separately called for constructing a 189,840-square-foot building. The developer of the site, NorthPoint Development, has been asked by Buckeye to expand the footprint to 258,720 square feet to add storage space for the wheels and tires it will supply to GM’s Spring Hill plant.
NorthPoint’s Vice President of Economic Development, Brent Miles, asked Planning Commissioners on Monday night to consider the change at a special meeting in order to remain on track with contractors scheduled to begin Sept. 30 pouring Buckeye’s foundation. GM has asked NorthPoint to complete the larger building on the same time schedule.
The Commission has agreed to schedule the meeting pending NorthPoint submitting revised construction plans resolving inconsistencies with the modified plan.
Buckeye has committed to a $30 million investment and the creation of 217 jobs with an average annual wage of $33,316. The expansion would add four additional workers per shift, and one additional truck per hour.
NorthPoint, which will lease the buildings to Magna and Buckeye, will install nearly $1 million in related road improvements to handle the additional traffic. The improvements will be funded through the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s State Industrial Access Program. A traffic study is being performed to determine the details of the improvements.
