The project will include 1.3 million square feet of manufacturing and administration space, the application states, along with 0.7 million square feet of parking, truck lane and docking. The project will also reconstruct/reroute 2,550 linear feet of Campus Boulevard.
A company spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that crews were clearing trees and completing landscaping work on the property, but declined to comment on the purpose of the project.
“General Motors has begun property management initiatives related to sustainability efforts on land adjacent to the DMAX Brookville Plant,” spokesman Dan Flores said in an email. “DMAX continues to run its normal operating plan, and we have made no announcements that would impact that plan.”
The application also states the project will result in “unavoidable impacts to the 0.12 acres of forested wetland and 2.47 acres of emergent wetland and removal of 4.75 acres of upland forest habitat,” while avoiding impacts to “3.14 acres of wetland and 4.8 acres of upland forest habitat.”
Nearby resident Sam Wickham said she is concerned about the environmental impact of the project.
“We insist that there is plenty of cleared space to the east of GM’s existing facility, as well as industrial land available to be developed further east and southeast of the property, which does not lie directly on the Wolf Creek Waterway, (which is) a tributary to the Great Miami,” Wickham said. “Industry and the waterway do not need to mingle.”
The project is currently open for public comment and residents have until April 20 to submit feedback, according to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, which is responsible for issuing the necessary permits to develop on the site.
The DMAX Brookville plant is located at 101 W. Campus Blvd., west of Collective Way, and sits on a 75-acre site purchased by the company in 2019. On that site, DMAX Ltd., a joint venture between General Motors and Isuzu Diesel Services, constructed a $175 million manufacturing facility that opened in 2021.
Later that same year, GM purchased 53 acres of land located next to the DMAX plant. Until now, that site has gone largely untouched since the purchase.
According to Rod Stephan, law director for Brookville, GM has not yet submitted any applications or site plans to the city concerning this piece of land.
The city of Brookville has a regular city council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m.
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