Pontiac West Assembly

Last updated
Pontiac West
Pontiac West Assembly
Operated1909–2008
Location Pontiac, Michigan
Coordinates 42°37′N83°17′W / 42.62°N 83.29°W / 42.62; -83.29
Industry Automotive
Products Chevrolet and GMC trucks
AddressBaldwin Avenue
Owner(s) General Motors
Defunct2008;14 years ago (2008)

Pontiac West Assembly (also known as GMC Truck & Coach, GM Truck Validation Center and Pontiac Centerpoint Campus Validation Center) was a General Motors manufacturing facility located in Pontiac, Michigan. The manufacturing complex occupied an irregular 82-acre site bounded on the North side by Rapid Street, on the South side by South Boulevard W, on the East side by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad/Woodward Avenue (U.S. Route 24), and on the West side by Franklin Road. [1] The complex included GMC Truck & Coach Plant 1, 3, 4 and 5, as well as numerous administrative and support buildings. The last GM operations at the facility were closed, and the site completely demolished, in 2008. [2]

Contents

History

The complex was originally many separate privately owned parcels belonging to various manufacturing companies as well as private homes. By 1909 Rapid Motor Vehicle Company occupied a plant at 25 Rapid Street abutting the Grand Trunk Western Railroad tracks. [3]

By 1919, Wilson Foundry & Machine Company, Detroit Weather Proof Body Company and Pontiac Drop Forge Company were some of the diverse property owners. [4] [5]

General Motors ownership of the site began with its acquisition of Rapid Motor Vehicle Company and its plant at 25 Rapid Street in 1909. The Rapid Motor Vehicle facility became Plant 1. In 1913, the manufacturing of all GMC trucks was consolidated at the Rapid Street plant.

GM acquired a controlling interest in Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company in 1925 and began moving its engineering operations to the Rapid Street plant. In 1937, Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company began purchasing the plants owned by Wilson Foundry & Machine Company. Plant 4 fronted S Saginaw Street (now Woodward Avenue). Plant 3 on the corner of South Boulevard W and Franklin Road was acquired in 1940. Plant 5 fronted Franklin Road north of Plant 3. In 1943, GM acquired the remaining interest in Yellow Truck & Coach Manufacturing Company and renamed it GMC Truck & Coach Division. [6]

Around 1981, Plant 1 was demolished. Plants 3 and 5 were demolished around 2005, and Plant 4 in 2008. In 2011 the vacant property was transferred to RACER Trust as part of the GM bankruptcy settlement, and sold to M1 Concourse in 2014 and developed into a playground for auto enthusiasts. [7]

Other associated GMC facilities

Vehicles built

Related Research Articles

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Pontiac Assembly was one of four General Motors assembly plants in Pontiac, Michigan located along Baldwin Avenue. It served as the home factory for GM's Pontiac Motor Division since it was built in 1927. It was across the street from the currently operational Pontiac Metal Center, which was the original location for the Oakland Motor Car Company, which Pontiac evolved out of. It was also sometimes identified as being located in the city of Bloomfield, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RACER Trust</span>

Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust ("RACER") Trust was created in March 2011 by a consent decree in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. RACER's mission is to clean up and position for redevelopment certain real properties owned by the former General Motors Corporation (“GMC”) and various GMC affiliates at the time of GMC's bankruptcy in 2009. Through its bankruptcy proceeding, GMC became known as Motors Liquidation Company ("MLC") and has since been effectively dissolved. Before its dissolution, MLC was carved into five separate trusts; the first to settle the claims of unsecured creditors ; the second (RACER) to manage, perform environmental activities at, and ultimately dispose of certain remaining MLC real and personal property assets; the third to manage asbestos-related claims ; the fourth for litigation claims ; and the fifth for general unresolved GMC matters.

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References

  1. "PCC Validation Industrial Land I" (PDF). RACER Trust. RACER Trust. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  2. History of GM manufacturing in Pontiac, MI
  3. "Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan. Sanborn Map Company, Oct, 1909". Library of Congress. Sanborn Map Company. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  4. "Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan. Sanborn Map Company, Feb, 1919". Library of Congress. Sanborn Map Company. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  5. "Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan. Sanborn Map Company, Feb, 1919". Library of Congress. Sanborn Map Company. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  6. Meyer, Donald. "The First Century of GMC Truck History" (PDF). GMC Heritage Center. Donald Meyer. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  7. Property History

Coordinates: 42°37′19″N83°17′06″W / 42.621994°N 83.285032°W / 42.621994; -83.285032