GM Details $1 Billion Tech Center Project

General Motors Co. confirms it will invest $1 billion into its technical center in Warren, Mich. The company also will add 2,600 jobs, spread among vehicle engineering, information technology and design.

The campus currently houses more than 19,000 GM workers and contractors in 38 buildings. The 326-acre site, designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen and landscape architect Thomas Church, opened in 1956 and was designated a National Historic Landmark last year.

The upgrades, which will include building new design studios, a new information technology center and additional testing areas at the advanced energy center, will begin immediately and continue through 2018. Existing buildings, some of which were severely damaged by flooding last year, also will be renovated and upgraded. GM plans to add more parking decks and raze at least one underutilized structure.

The $1 billion includes $140 million earmarked last month for a new body shop and stamping plant improvements at a pre-production facility on the site. GM is also investing $35 million into the former Campbell Ewald building, located across the street from the tech center.

GM says modernizing and improving the tech center will create more efficient and open work areas, help attract and retain top engineering talent and better position the company for innovation and long-term growth. Employees will help decide on designs for their work areas.

In April, the Warren City Council approved a 50% tax break for the tech center renovations. The abatement could save GM as much as $97 million in property taxes over the next decade.