The first phase of Renaissance Zones consists of 14 cities, counties and townships, from Benton Harbor and St. Joseph to Detroit and the former Warren Tank Arsenal. These are areas almost completely free of state and local tax burdens, both for businesses and residents. The duration of the zone varies from 10 to 15 years.

Since the initiative started in 1997, 128 new projects have come to the state, creating 3,663 jobs at a total investment of $331.8 million.

Catching a WAVE in Benton Harbor

Benton Harbor is home to the second manufacturing plant to locate in a Renaissance Zone, WAVE - a joint venture between Worthington Steel and Venture Industries.

WAVE manufactures ceiling grids for suspended ceilings. Ron Badger, plant manager, said the Michigan plant is the company's smallest at about 70,000 square feet. He said there are also plants in Nevada and Maryland, with the company's headquarters located in Pennsylvania.

The $10 million project in Michigan created 75 jobs.

“We opened this facility to provide better service to our customers in the Midwest region," said Badger.

Johnson Controls Inc. is also taking advantage of the Renaissance Zone opportunities. Johnson opened a new manufacturing plant in Warren.

The 165,000 square foot facility is located on the former Warren Tank Arsenal plant. David Roznowski, spokesperson for Johnson Controls, said the $35 million project is still in the early stages of development.

The plant, which manufactures interior components for DaimlerChrysler, is operating at about 20 percent of capacity. Construction on the project started last fall and the company occupied the facility in April.

“The state Renaissance Zone was one of the attractive aspects to the location," said Roznowski. “It has a good freeway and good work force to draw from."

The plant is one of 275 worldwide for Johnson Controls, which also has plants in 28 countries, with a work force of 65,000. The company's auto group alone grossed $12.1 billion last year, according to Roznowski.

And co-located inside the Warren plant is the Becker Group, L.L.C., which does the injection molding. Becker resides in 70,000 square feet of space in the plant.

— Matt Bird-Meyer