Here & Now

Janesville GM Plant to be Demolished and Rebuilt

Frederica Freyberg:

Now for an update away from the state capitol, the former General Motors plant in Janesville is coming down to be rebuilt for future use. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation this week announced it is putting a half million dollars toward the demolition. Six buildings in the former assembly plant will be razed. The demo is expected to be completed in two years. Remediation and redevelopment will take several more years. A commercial real estate company then plans to turn the property into about 1 million square feet of industrial and warehouse space. Also this week, a new state office building in Milwaukee will be named after the late civil rights leader Vel Phillips. Phillips passed away in April at the age of 95. She was the first African-American woman on the Milwaukee Common Council and the first African-American woman to hold state-wide office as secretary of state.