GM picks Lordstown site for $2.3 billion battery plant

Detroit — General Motors Co. has selected a site for its new battery-cell plant with LG Chem on vacant property it once owned in Lordstown, Ohio, and left behind in the bankruptcy.

The automaker has entered into a purchase agreement for the 158-acre property located near the former GM Lordstown Assembly Plant. It has filed applications with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers to receive permits to build the plant on the property's 66 acres of wetlands.

In order to do so, GM said it will reestablish more than 130 acres of wetlands at Mosquito Creek in Trumbull County where the plant would be located.

GM and LG Chem plan to invest $2.3 billion on the new plant to support the electric vehicles GM has planned for the future. The Detroit automaker wants to have 20 electric nameplates released by 2023.

The new plant is expected to create 1,100 new jobs in the area that lost thousands after the GM plant there closed last year.

GM wants to begin initial site preparations in spring 2020.

"This move gets us a step closer to making the state-of-the art plant a reality and positioning the Mahoning Valley as a major force in technology and electric vehicle manufacturing," GM spokesman Dan Flores said. "GM is committed to engaging with the community as we develop this project in a responsible and sustainable manner."

The site is owned by NP Lordstown 173 LLC, an affiliate of Kansas City-based North Point Development, according to Trumbull County property records. RACER Trust, an organization created to redevelop GM properties and facilities after the company's bankruptcy, sold the property to NorthPoint Development in 2014 for the development of an industrial park there but the land still remains vacant.

GM operated an assembly plant in Lordstown for 53 years. It halted production at the plant in March 2019 and officially sold the plant to Lordstown Motors Corp. in November. Lordstown Motors plans to build electric trucks at the plant.

khall@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @bykaleahall