Mt. Pleasant---Even though enough acreage has already been acquired to cover the actual 'footprint' of Foxconn's proposed initial structure, the owners of property totaling hundreds of other acres have yet to be approached.
Many of them showed up at village hall this past week for the first of three public information sessions. The event was informal—area residents moved from table to table, asking various questions about the project.
The most popular topic appeared to be property acquisition. Residents were told that the project’s real estate team will be fanning out, contacting the remaining owners.
Many homeowners were clearly worried that what they’ll get for their homes won’t be enough to cover the cost of moving into something comparable. Others are happy where they are and detest the thought of having to move, even with adequate funds. "They're going to help you find another place but you're the one that's going to have to go out and find something comparable to what you've already got," said John Usa, 78. "After being in one place for over 30 years that's kind of hard to do."
Dave Novak and his wife are taking a different approach. They've already reached out to the village's real estate team, and have started to look for comparable settings. Novak, a retired career military man, is used to frequent moves.
The main problem of being proactive and putting down money on another property now is that the Novak's would be acting before knowing what the village's relocation offer will be. "It's kind of a crap shoot," he said. "But I feel confident that if you don't give them a hassle they're going to be somewhat fair.
By law, residents who are forced to leave need to be offered fair market value for their homes and relocation assistance.
Meanwhile, between 500 and 1,000 job applications have been received for the new plant, according to Jonaathan Sharp, a Foxconn recruiter who manned a table for the company at both information sessions. "I went through 30 resumes last night for one role," he said. "I'm guessing there were 20 of them that I sent to the hiring manager. They all looked really good and qualified."
Over the past few weeks, the company has posted positions online and held several job fairs. The first hires are expected to be assigned to a temporary production and training facility in Mt. Pleasant that’ll open well ahead of the permanent complex.
Most of the applicants, he says, are from Wisconsin, and most seemed to be motivated by a desire for advancement and an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a promising new operation. .
The Mt. Pleasant plant will be the only plant in the U-S producing L-C-D screens.
Groundbreaking on the massive complex is expected to be held sometime next year, with the plant expected to open in about four years. Over time, Foxconn in Mt. Pleasant could employee up to 13,000 people.
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