Homeowners living near Stellantis’ Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack (colloquially called Mack Assembly) will be able to apply for their share of $3.3M in home repair grants starting in January.
It’s all part of addressing problems with Mack Assembly, a facility which has been under fire from locals about unwanted odors ever since the expanded plant opened over three years ago. Fingers were pointed at a paint booth which was apt to emit fumes until the installation of various and sundry air scrubbers and so-called thermal oxidizers seemed to address the problem, at least to a point. That last remark is key since the solution required an increase in the amount of fine soot or dust emanating from the plant, though not to the point where it might exceed totals allowed under federal and state air pollution regs.
This $3.3 million for home repairs in the area stems from a partnership between Stellantis and local governments. It is said the company worked with the state of Michigan and the city to reallocate unspent funds from the Mack development project, now earmarking it for this purpose following feedback from the community living near Mack. Part of the money is apparently unspent funds plus about a half-million bucks from the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) Neighborhood Impact Fund.
Stellantis previously provided just under $2 million in home repair grants for the issue used by 120 homeowners in 2020 and 2021 calendar years. Further millions were also invested by the company in community projects surrounding the plant over the past five years. In total, more than $5 million has been designated for home repairs in the area since 2019.
Mack Assembly as we know it today was announced that year with a $1.6 billion investment to convert the old Mack Avenue Engine Complex into a manufacturing site for the next-generation Jeep vehicles. Production kicked off a couple of years later and now cranks out the Grand Cherokee, Grand Cherokee L, and Grand Cherokee 4xe.
[Image: Stellantis]
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Source: The Truth About Cars
