Sheet Metal Stamping Simulation

West Bloomfield-based Lormax Stern Development Co. has agreed to purchase the 92-acre site and the 2 million-square-foot plant, and will work with the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming to redevelop the property, city officials and the development company said. Financial details weren't immediately released.

Work at the site is set to begin in April, with demolition and cleanup expected to take up to 18 months.

"Since GM announced its intent to close the stamping plant . . . we have been working diligently to ensure a useful second life for this highly visible and highly desirable property, which is one of the largest tracts of open industrial land in west Michigan," Wyoming Mayor Jack Poll said in a statement.

The area has a skilled work force, and the city wants to bring good-paying work, Poll said. The region's economy has lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in the automotive, office furniture and major appliance industries.

Plans call for the Grand Rapids Metal Center site to be redeveloped into one or two large manufacturing sites, or one site with smaller related businesses, said Chris Brochert, a partner with Lormax Stern. The company has worked in the past primarily on projects such as shopping centers or mixed-use developments, he said, but has been trying to diversify its business in recent years.

"This is an exceptional piece of property in a prime location with great rail and highway access," Brochert said.

The factory opened in 1936. General Motors announced the closing in 2008, when the plant that made doors, hoods, fenders and other parts of GM vehicles had about 1,500 workers. It became part of Motors Liquidation Co., the company formed from the unwanted factories and massive debt left behind by Detroit-based General Motors Co. when it emerged from its six-week bankruptcy protection in 2009.

Motors Liquidation spokesman Steve Blow confirmed the sale agreement.

The purchase is expected to be completed about April 1, said Barb VanDuren, Wyoming's deputy city manager. When that is complete, the city will buy the property from Lormax Stern for $1 and the company will get two years of exclusive rights to redevelop the property, she said. This will allow the company to work on redevelopment without paying taxes on the vacant site.

The city also has agreed to finance road and related infrastructure improvements for the project. The Right Place Inc., a regional nonprofit economic development organization, will help market the site internationally.