By John D. Stoll
General Motors Co. will bulk up its iconic technical center,
committing $1 billion to a makeover of an aged patchwork of
buildings in suburban Detroit that has long served as one of the
auto industry's storied hubs of design and engineering.
The investment, expected to result in 2,600 new salaried jobs,
has been telegraphed in recent weeks by city officials in Warren,
Mich., and is a shot in the arm for a Southeast Michigan region on
the rebound after being stung by economic downturn.
The sprawling 59-year-old complex will start getting upgrades
this month, and work will continue through 2018.
GM's work on the site will include updated design studios,
renovated research-and-development facilities and new IT
facilities.
Known as the GM Tech Center, the sprawling campus is the pride
of the Motor City, a place where design and engineering superstars
once crafted Corvettes, Pontiacs, Buicks and Cadillacs that were
the envy of the automotive world. After decades of decline and a
recent flood, the complex needs fresh paint, new carpets, better
parking and a modern touch.
"When you walk across the street and into our lab and test
facility there, that's not something I'm proud of," GM Product
Chief Mark Reuss said on Thursday at an event celebrating the
investment. "So those are the opportunities to really go in there
and clean house and get it right and get our laboratories and
R&D piece of it state-of-the-art once again."
Some of the most important pockets of the Tech Center have
dilapidated ceiling tiles, worn out floors or outdated restrooms.
Mr. Reuss said the design areas in particular were hit hard during
major flooding last summer and the campus's boilers are in a state
of "absolute neglect and decay."
GM's Warren upgrade comes amid a flurry of other investment
plans for global facilities and product programs.
Last month, GM said it would invest $5.4 billion in U.S.
factories over the next three years, coming as the auto maker is in
the midst of a 4 billion-euro ($4.4 billion) makeover of its
European operation and a $12 billion spending spree with partners
in China. It plans to make $9 billion in capital expenditures in
2015, a 28% increase from 2014. It has also said it would spend $12
billion sprucing up its struggling Cadillac division.
The investments have come as GM has lost its share of key
markets. Share in China, the U.S., Brazil, Germany and the U.K.
slipped in the first quarter from the same period a year
earlier.
GM's headquarters is located in a Detroit skyscraper complex on
the riverfront across from Canada, but the bulk of the company's
brainpower has long been located in Warren.
In 2009, as GM was being bailed out by taxpayer funding and
preparing for a bankruptcy filing, executives considered moving
headquarters to Warren. Later in the year, the auto maker promised
to keep a presence in Detroit in exchange for state credits.
Although a throwback, GM's Tech Center is still revered for its
role in history and celebrated for its central place in the auto
maker's future. Industry legends, ranging from Harley Earl to Bob
Lutz, spent critical spans of their careers in Warren. The design
dome has hosted executive vehicle reviews since the 1950s, and is
now the stage for a lineup of cars and trucks intended to fuel
Chief Executive Mary Barra's goal of building the most valued car
company in the world.
"This place was revolutionary when it started and nearly 60
years later, it's going to continue to be a revolutionary place,"
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder said during a news conference Thursday.
He pointed to shrinking unemployment numbers in the state. "When
you hear about those numbers and results it's because of companies
like GM creating jobs."
The Tech Center's interior designs, including the main
administration building's floating staircase, and mid-20th-century
building architecture are reminiscent of an era when American
automobiles dominated the global auto industry. Mr. Reuss, who is
the son of one-time GM President Lloyd Reuss, said the campus's
retro flavor needs to remain intact.
The design will be "consistent with why it is a National
Historic Landmark," he said. "It will still be in that iconic
form."
Write to John D. Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for General Motors Co.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US37045V1008
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires