Flint, Mich. - General Motors today announced it has engaged Jones Lang LaSalle to market the former Buick City site in Flint, Michigan. Jones Lang LaSalle, based in Chicago, is a leading global provider of integrated real estate and investment management services.

The 200-acre former manufacturing site will be marketed nationally under the name "Century Business Center," reflecting its rich manufacturing history over the last 100 years. A Request For Proposal (RFP) process will be used to identify potential developers, investors and end-users. The RFP is the first step toward planned future redevelopment for the site, which could be redeveloped for industrial, commercial, recreational, residential, or institutional/educational uses.

"We are optimistic to see this property redeveloped to fit the needs of the community," said Doug Rothwell, executive director, GM Worldwide Real Estate. "GM is looking forward to continuing our relationship with the state and local organizations and working with Jones Lang LaSalle to identify a potential new use for this property." General Motors is working with the City of Flint, the Flint-Genesee Economic Growth Alliance, the Flint Economic Development Corporation, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the governor's office on potential redevelopment options for the site.

"This is an extraordinary property with a supporting infrastructure that would be prohibitively expensive to duplicate in a 'green field location," said John Lynch of Jones Lang LaSalle. "That, in combination with the State's incentive package, makes this a remarkably low cost location to do business. With that advantage in hand, we are confident that we can help GM convey this property in a way that leads to both a successful development and a center of job-creation."

"The former Buick City site will be the largest brownfield redevelopment project in the nation, and our administration is committed to finding a new use for it that will bolster the economy of not only Genesee County, but all of Michigan," said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. "Flint has the tools to train high tech workers and a workforce that is ready and able to provide highly skilled labor for a manufacturer or a tech company." The recently announced $500,000 grant from the MEDC will assist the city and the community in their efforts to support the project.

"The City of Flint is 100 percent behind this project. It is our number-one economic development priority. We are committed to using all the tools available to partner with General Motors and the development community to make this project a success," said Todd Brian, director of the City of Flint Economic Development Corporation.

GM's redevelopment successes have generated thousands of new jobs in more than 30 communities across the country. "This endeavor is another in a long line of projects in which GM has pursued the redevelopment of our property for the benefit of the community," added Rothwell.