Former ford assembly plant approved for tax credit redevelopment

Hazelwood, Missouri - The current owners of a former Ford assembly plant is to receive $5 million in tax credits for redevelopment of the former plant. Located in Hazelwood, Missouri, the former Ford assembly plant has been approved for remediation tax credits worth $5,023,272 from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, approved through the Brownfield Redevelopment Program. The Hazelwood assembly plant was closed and subsequently sold by the Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford Motor Company in Spring 2006 as part of the company’s plans to downsize some of its facilities. The sale price on the property was estimated to be around $50 million. Current owners Aviator Business Park LLC plan to convert the former Ford plant, a space of almost 155 acres, into a commercial and industrial complex which will create nearly 300 new jobs. The redevelopment project includes the construction of eleven new buildings with a total of 2.6 million square feet of industrial and commercial space. The Brownfield Redevelopment Program is designed to offer financial incentives for companies to redevelop old industrial and commercial properties which are contaminated with hazardous substances. The former Ford assembly plant qualifies for the program’s tax credits due to its contamination with asbestos-containing materials which were used in the plant’s construction and machinery, as well as soil and groundwater chemical contamination. Asbestos was a common component of construction materials up until the 1980s due to its high fire resistance and other desirable factors. The substance was so cheap and had so many desirable properties that it was added to thousands of products, including many types of construction materials. Asbestos is therefore present in many residential, commercial, and industrial buildings built before this time. It is likely that asbestos was heavily used in industrial plants such as the former Ford assembly plant, as the substance was ideal for use in heavy machinery due to its fire resistance. However, due to the hazards associated with asbestos exposure, many problems associated with its exposure are now arising. Inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause lethal diseases such as asbestosis and mesothelioma due to the chronic inflammation that the fibers cause in the lungs. These factors make asbestos remediation a costly venture, especially in a facility the size of the former Ford plant. The high costs associated with cleaning up this type of contamination is the main reason behind projects such as the Brownfield Redevelopment Program, which offer tax credits for companies which can then use the money to defray the costs of cleaning up contaminated industrial and commercial sites. (Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News)