Citing a need to make way for economic development opportunities, Louisiana trucking titan James Davison says he will demolish the former General Motors headlamp plant in Monroe, The USA Today Network of Louisiana reports.
“We believe offering a clean site provides the best potential to find a company that will bring jobs to northern Louisiana, which has been my goal since buying the property,” Davison says.
Drake Mills, chief executive of Origin Bank and Davison’s adviser on the project, agrees, saying the 425,000-square-foot building has hindered the marketing of the property.
Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson says the removal of the building “will set the stage for a client that has immediate needs for industrial construction,” adding LED will feature the site as a proposed location whenever qualified buyers are identified.
General Motors opened the plant, which fronts Interstate 20, in 1975. In 1998, it sold the plant to Guide Corp., which closed it in 2007.
At its height as many as 800 people worked in the headlamp plant, which generated a $53 million annual payroll during the heyday. Davison bought the plant in 2008 in hopes of reviving jobs there.
