February 19, 2019

Samsung signs lease for $62.7 million battery plant, HQ in Auburn Hills

ANISA JIBRELL

Crain’s Detroit

 

  • Company aims to move in by late spring or early summer
  • Project to house battery pack plant, HQ for Samsung SDI America Inc., R&D tech center
  • Previously announced plan to create 461 jobs

Samsung is inching closer to the move-in date for its new $62.7 million automotive battery plant in Auburn Hills.

The company is expected to move into the 137,560-square-foot facility by late spring or early summer, said Peter Kepic, senior vice president at Colliers International Detroit, which represents the building’s landlord, Joel Nosanchuk.

The new building will serve as a battery pack plant and headquarters of auto battery operations for Samsung SDI America Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Samsung’s storage battery manufacturing company, as well as a research and development tech center. The facility is the first of its kind in the U.S., Samsung said.

Kepic declined to provide leasing terms of the center at 50 Continental Drive.

Office space will take up around 15,000-20,000 square feet, and the rest will serve as shop and R&D space, Kepic said.

The company has hired Magnum Industrial Building Co. of Bloomfield Hills and Birmingham-based Smith & Schurman Associates Inc. to design and build the new plant, according to Kepic.

As part of the project, Samsung plans to create 461 jobs at the Auburn Hills facility by the end of 2024, including production line operators, factory managers and engineers, Crain’s reported in November.

The project garnered support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, which green-lighted a $10 million Michigan Business Development Program grant. The company also landed a property tax abatement from the city of Auburn Hills and a 6-mill State Education Tax abatement.

The technology conglomerate recorded approximately $217.1 billion in revenue for 2018.

A Samsung spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comment.