Council approves tax abatement for proposed battery plant

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind. -- The St. Joseph County Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to declare a plot of land in New Carlisle an economic revitalization area. This allows the economic development team to negotiate a package of tax breaks with Ultium LLC.

If the deal is approved the company says it will create 1600 new high-tech jobs which average about $47,000 a year.

"Typically this process stretches out 60-to-90 days depending on when you file your paperwork and so this one is accelerated a little bit to try to meet the company's decision-making time frame," said Jeff Rea, South Bend Regional Chamber President.

Ultium wants to build a 2.5 million square foot building for electric vehicle battery production.

The county already has agreements to buy the land.

If you'd like to weigh in on the proposal there will be a public hearing held on Tuesday September 13th at the county-city building in downtown South Bend.