However, the automaker needed the farmland rezoned. "The plan had cleared the township board of trustees, but the residents petitioned it and the plan was defeated in a referendum vote early last year," Holmes told GlobeSt.com.
The automaker downsized the plans considerably, and were going to bring the project back to the board. However, Holmes said the township board members had caught wind of the change and reversed their thinking on the property.
"They all ran on a platform opposing the development, and they were elected in November. We realized getting the project through now would be almost insurmountable, so we dropped the project," Holmes said.
The project would have included about 600 acres of development for a parking lot and loading barns. It was to have been buffered by berms and tree lines, Holmes said.
"We had everything ready to go, we knew what we wanted to build. The property was an ideal location, the railroad already runs through it, and it was a two-mile stretch of land without crossroads," he said.
The company, which had planned to use the space for the off-loading, on-loading and distribution of new cars, will be looking for another location for the yard, Holmes said.
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