Windsor's Mayor says everything is on track for the LG Energy Solution/Stellantis joint venture $5-billion battery production facility.
The City of Windsor's contribution towards the facility is to assemble and acquire the land, and then lease it back to LG.
Speaking on AM800's The Morning Drive, Drew Dilkens says they acquired all the land which is a total of about 225 acres.
"Cities because we're a level of government we are able to qualify for a special municipal loan program with Infrastructure Ontario. We get fair interest rates here because of our real good financial picture and our increased rating here by Standard & Poor's. So basically we have to fund the purchase of that land, it's about $50-million."
Dilkens says council has been opposed to taking on new debt, but this is one of those situations where they'd be foolish not to do it.
"We have to do it, it's linked to 3,000 jobs and $5-billion in investment, and frankly we will continue to own that land. So, forever and a day the city will own that land and the taxpayers will own that land, but in the meantime we'll get 3,000 jobs and $5-billion dollars as part of it. It's win, win, win," Dilkens stated.
He says the City has the tools and ability to assemble the land very quickly in cooperation with the province, but every situation may have a different set up.
Dilkens says from his perspective it was always about owning the land so there's value to the taxpayer, and it's right for them to lease it at favourable rates.
"We know that we're competing against other jurisdictions in Ontario, but more competitively against jurisdictions just across the border in Michigan," he continued.
"This is what we could do to have the biggest impact, obviously it worked, and we're just putting all the pieces together and the finishing touches on our land acquisition so that we can be ready for the shovel in the ground and the earth to move sometime next month."
At the next City Council meeting, councillors will receive the report about the process of getting the $50-million loan from the province.
There were also some concerns around some of the zoning approvals for the land, but Dilkens says council approved the Minister's Zoning Order request at their last meeting and sent the letter to the province the next day.
The provincial government is working through the process, and once that work is done, Dilkens expects the joint venture will have certainty that the land is zoned and ready for its intended purpose.
- with files from AM800's The Morning Drive