Former GM stamping plant site near Grand Rapids purchased by real estate developer

WYOMING, MI — After years on the market, real estate development firm Franklin Partners has purchased the former GM stamping plant site in Wyoming.

Franklin Partners said in a news release that the 74-acre, shovel ready site, located at 300 36th St. SW, will be used for industrial development. The firm intends to build manufacturing plants on the site, ranging in size from 150,000 square feet to more than one million square feet there.

“We are very excited to acquire this exceptional piece of industrial property,” Ray Warner, managing partner of Franklin Partners, said in a statement.

Property records show Franklin Partners purchased the site from the city of Wyoming for $5.25 million on Feb. 25.

“The timing is right for this transaction, and the market conditions are perfect,” Warner said. “We remain bullish on West Michigan, which right now has more than 130 million square feet of industrial space – and a vacancy rate under 2%. Franklin Partners has spent a lot of time successfully redeveloping industrial space in this region, and now we see tremendous opportunities to build new. This property is second to none in the Midwest and will be an excellent location for manufacturers looking to utilize the infrastructure that is in place, creating good-paying jobs.”

GM, which developed the Wyoming stamping plant in 1936, announced in October 2008 that it was closing the plant. The site, which was purchased by the city of Wyoming, was cleared for new development in 2011. Later, in 2012, it was dubbed ‘Site 36′ as part of a promotion campaign aimed at finding a new manufacturer to buy the site.

“This day has been a long time coming, and we appreciate the confidence and faith Don and his team at Franklin Partners have shown in Wyoming, in manufacturing and in our greater West Michigan community,” Wyoming City Manager Curtis Holt said in a statement. “We have long recognized what a jewel this property is – and what tremendous potential it has to attract manufacturers looking for a place to expand or consolidate operations.”

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