One of the many U.S. locations to see ongoing investment from General Motors is Fairfax, Kan., where the company is investing $200 million in machinery, equipment and tooling to produce the all-new 2007 model Saturn mid-size car. Up to 280 new employees are projected to come on board at the 3,000-worker facility, and 55,000 sq. ft. (5,110 sq. m.) will be added to the overall 3-million-sq.-ft. (278,700-sq.-m.) complex, which just received a large investment and a 200-worker boost in early 2004 to support production of the Malibu and Malibu Maxx.
      The GM plant is certainly among the top consumers of power and water for the Kansas City (Kan.) Board of Public Utilities, along with railroad wheel manufacturer Griffin Wheel, ConAgra, CertainTeed, Colgate-Palmolive, Owens-Corning and P&G. In fact, CertainTeed and Owens-Corning are both also in the midst of expansions, the latter adding some 70 new jobs.
      The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., has to be looked to as a progenitor of this kind of growth. George Powell, director of economic development and retail services for BPU and one of the strategic planners involved in the original unification effort, says home prices have appreciated by around 40 percent while the mill levy on taxes has dropped. And the usual elimination of layers has increased speed of both permitting and responsiveness when it comes to projects.
      For the GM project, the local government awarded a 50-percent tax abatement that amounts to $6.2 million spread over five years.