Governor Scott Walker signed a $3 billion 15-year tax incentive package to establish Wisconnn Valley, which is where electronics manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group is expected to construct a $10 billion manufacturing campus.
Hinged on Foxconn making capital expenditures and hiring employees at the plant, the tax incentive package is expected spur 10,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent hires to work at the plant.
Saying the project provided opportunities for generations to come, Walker signed the bill into law on Monday at the SC Johnson iMet Center.
“People are going to be a part of this supply chain from one end of the state to the other,” Walker said. “When you think about $1.4 billion on an annual basis for the supply chain… they are going to be good paying jobs for people for generations to come.”
Foxconn Yet To Be Named
The location is expected to be officially announced in October.
Expected to be five times the size of the Pentagon, the campus for the 20 million square-foot 1,000-acre manufacturing facility has not officially been named. However, the Village of Mount Pleasant hired a project coordinator for the Foxconn project earlier this month. The village also requested that the Racine Water and Wastewater Utility expand and extend water and sewer capacity for an anticipated development.
“Today Wisconsin is officially saying yes to a $10 billion development project, 13,000 careers and new opportunities throughout Wisconsin. This law allows the state to move forward on the largest economic development project in state history,” said House Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester).
Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) said the adoption and signing is an historic moment for Racine County, Wisconsin and the United States.
“This not just thousands of jobs, it’s going to be tens of thousands of jobs,” Wanggaard said.
But the bill signing wasn’t as well received by some Democrats.
Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director, called the bill a subsidy and took issue that the incentives are going to a foreign corporation.
“By signing the Foxconn deal into law today Scott Walker, and the legislators that put the bill on his desk, are responsible for committing us to send billions to a foreign corporation instead of investing it here — in Wisconsin public schools and universities, in Wisconsin roads and bridges, and in Wisconsin businesses and entrepreneurs,” Ross said.
Next Step For Project
Working with officials from Foxconn to finalize its contract with the state, Walker said that agreement should be completed by Oct. 1. Typically, companies that apply for tax incremental development dollars are required to submit cash flow forecasts to prove out the sustainability of the project.
Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel s aid his department is working with local municipalities on those documents.
Foxconn Technology Group expects to start construction in the spring.
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Foxconn: Wisconn Valley By The Numbers
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