Shreveport’s former General Motors Assembly Plant could soon be spinning textiles even if it never boots up its vehicle assembly lines. The Shreveport Times reports Gulf Coast Spinning Company will relocate to the former plant and will use space within the facility to house a textile mill.
In an exclusive interview, Dan Feibus, CEO of Gulf Coast Spinning parent company Zagis USA, confirms to The Times his company’s intention to settle in Shreveport.
“We are extremely close—but not finished—to finalizing and hope to locate and have an announcement in Shreveport in the very near future,” he says. “But we do not have one yet. And in regards to why we’re in Shreveport, we’re very excited about it.”
An official announcement on the textiles operations could come as early as this week. What’s still unclear is how a potential new tenant at the former GM assembly plant would impact Elio Motors, which rents approximately 1.5 million square feet of the former GM assembly plant from industrial developer Stuart Lichter, who holds the lease to the 4.1 million square foot building. Elio Motors, which has stalled on plans to build and sell a three-wheeled vehicle, did not respond to multiple requests for interviews from The Times.
Lichter, president and board chairman the Industrial Realty Group, also sits on Elio’s board. He also did not respond to an interview request. Onno Steger, IRG’s real estate director, said he could not speak about Elio or Gulf Coast Spinning Company.
There’s no current manufacturing happening at the plant. By all outward appearances the facility seemed empty on July 1. There were a few cars in the parking and a lone guard manned the window inside the front entryway.
Elio Motors has yet to start production at the plant more than two-and-half years after it announced its much anticipated three-wheel Elio. The project was supposed to breathe new life into the former GM plant, which once was a vital hub of manufacturing in Shreveport.
