Less Than One Year Later: Work to Begin on Foxconn Site
First Contractors Announced, Equipment Delivered, Formal Groundbreaking Ceremony to Follow
Today, less than one year after initial conversations with Foxconn commenced in Washington, D.C., Racine County and Village of Mount Pleasant officials were joined by representatives of M+W | Gilbane as the first excavation equipment was delivered to the future site of Foxconn’s $10 billion Science and Technology Park in Racine County. Site work will commence before the weekend, with a formal groundbreaking celebration to be scheduled in the coming months.
“What has been accomplished in less than a year’s time is simply remarkable,” said County Executive Jonathan Delagrave. “I’m proud that through it all, our focus has remained on achieving what is best for our community, our residents and our taxpayers.”
The start of construction work on the site marks a significant milestone for the project, as the project’s first contractors were announced by Foxconn and M+W | Gilbane. Delivering on its commitment to “Wisconsin First,” Foxconn and M+W | Gilbane have announced that 90 percent of the contractors for the initial site work are from Wisconsin. Of that 90 percent, 10 percent of the contractors are from within Racine County and 10 percent are minority, veteran and / or woman owned.
“We are committed to and passionate about putting Wisconsin first,” said Adam Jelen, Senior Vice President, Wisconsin, Gilbane Building Company. “Right out of the gate, these first bid awards reflect our passion for building capacity in local workforce and businesses.”
Initial exploratory meetings between State of Wisconsin officials and Foxconn began in late April. By early May, the Racine County Economic Development Corporation (RCEDC) was compiling information about potential Racine County options.
“The fact that we are beginning project work on Foxconn’s $10 billion investment in less than one year’s time is simply incredible,” said Jenny Trick, Executive Director of RCEDC. “It is a testament to the extraordinary commitment and collaboration from all levels of government and the leadership of so many of our elected officials.”
In October 2017, the Village of Mount Pleasant was announced as the future home of Foxconn. Since that time, a remarkable amount of progress has been made, both on the state and local levels.
“In the past year, we’ve negotiated and approved a development agreement, financing agreements, numerous permits and been at the table with various state and local agencies and partners,” said David DeGroot, President of the Village of Mount Pleasant. “The amount of coordination and cooperation that has made this day possible is unprecedented and should be celebrated.”
This week, the Village of Mount Pleasant completed the transfer of almost 800 acres of land to Foxconn, representing a significant portion of Area I of the project area and enabling the start of initial site work. The land transfer also marks a financial milestone as it enables the beginning of a $75 million Special Assessment payment to the Village on the property transferred to Foxconn, as required by the Local Development Agreement. That is in addition to the $60 million provided by Foxconn in December 2017 for land acquisition in Areas 2 and 3.
