It’s dubbed only as “Project Tim” and, according to Crain’s Detroit Business, the code name means speculation is running wild.
It appears a company who wishes to remain nameless has amassed 850 acres in land options with the intent of developing a $5 billion dollar industrial facility in Durand, MI, which is a hop, skip, and a jump from onetime auto manufacturing behemoth Flint.
All we, or anyone, currently knows about Project Tim is that it’s the stuff industrial dreams are made of. The secretive company provided a few details to community officials, saying its plans were for a 24 million-square-foot facility that would be "the greenest facility of its kind anywhere in the world." Not to mention, the company promises 800 full time jobs – at around $25-$30 an hour – and that’s just in Phase 1.
But despite all this, not all community members are comfortable with the secrecy of the project. A group of citizens have come out against Project Tim, fearing – despite reassurances of the contrary – that they’re being signed up for a massive emissions-spewing factory in the middle of their rural landscape, and that the ink will be dry before they ever get a say in the matter.
And the more secrets, it seems, the more speculation. Some suggest Tim stands for “Tesla in Michigan” though community leaders maintain that “Tim” is simply the name of a man who is involved with pitching the project on behalf of the mystery company.