Gov. 
Jack Markell and state legislators have thrown their support behind redevelopment efforts at the site of the former General Motors following the announcement that CBRE Group was assigned marketing efforts.
The announcement dashes any hopes that the plant would one-day build vehicles since the site will be razed.
“We believe the location of the Boxwood Road facility is outstanding and anticipate an array of interest in the site,” said Larry Krueger, managing director of Wanxiang Real Estate. “From the moment that we acquired Karma Automotive (formerly Fisker Karma) and assumed ownership of the Boxwood Road site, we have committed to state leaders that we would work to maximize jobs and economic activity there. We have now received sufficient feedback from the market to know that the first step should be to take down the existing buildings while we market the property to a range of interested parties.”
Possible uses could include distribution centers and “flex” warehouse and manufacturing space.
The global commercial real estate services firm, will begin soliciting bids for the redevelopment of the Boxwood Road facility on behalf of their client, Wanxiang America.The project aims to maximize the value of the site for future economic development opportunities.
The CBRE team of Dan Rattay, John Kaczowka, Dan Reeder, and Jeff Cohen were tapped as the listing agents to represent Wanxiang America Corporation and Karma Automotive during the transaction.
In announcing the plans, CBRE noted that the site had a number of features which would make it attractive to a future buyer, including its proximity to major East Coast cities, access to major networks of road, rail, sea, and air transportation, Delaware’s workforce and public education system, and the state’s responsive government, a release from Markell’s office noted.
Officials praise decision
“I will never forget walking into the Boxwood Road facility just hours after the workers there got the news from GM that the plant would close down,” said Markell. “I look forward to this redevelopment project, and hope it will ensure a brighter future for the site.”
“Like so many in my district, I fondly remember the glory days of the Boxwood Plant and I’ll be sad to see it torn down,” said Senator Patricia Blevins (D-Elsmere). “Its closure was tough for Delaware because of the job losses that came with it and because it represented a significant shift in the American economy. That shift continues with the acquisition of the facility and corresponding plans to redevelop it, which I’m confident will lead to extraordinary new job opportunities that simply don’t exist there today. Like with the STAR Campus in Newark, tech-focused redevelopment plans have the opportunity to propel our state forward and make us a regional leader in the 21st Century economy.”
“While we ideally would have loved to see vehicles rolling off the assembly line again, this is great news and an indication that we are on the path to having a facility employing Delaware workers on that site once again,” said Rep. Larry Mitchell, whose district includes the former Boxwood plant. “I am looking forward to more positive developments and seeing a new business rise from the ground.”
Speculation over fate of site
Speculation over the fate of the site has surfaced from time to time, with County Executive Tom Gordon, at one point, floating the idea of buying the site to avoid the location becoming retail space with stores like non-union Wal-Mart.
Wanxiang ended up with the plant when it purchased assets of Fisker Automotive out of bankruptcy court. The plant was to have built a mid-sized Fisker car. Wanxiang is rolling out Fisker’s original model at a small assembly plant in Southern California but has not disclosed production plans for the model that was to have been built at Boxwood.
Delaware invested about $20 million in the Fisker project with the federal government losing about $200 million after pulling the plug on a loan to the automaker under an alternative vehicle program. The program was largely successful with Tesla and other automakers playing back their loans.
Reports have surfaced that other automakers have looked at the plant, but did not want to be in a state without a right to work law that bars unions from mandatory dues collection for worker covered under labor contracts. Republican legislators have proposed right to work zones that would cover sites like Boxwood but exempt other areas.
Delaware is also outside the corridor in the Midwest and South where suppliers are located, adding further cost disadvantages.
