RACER Trust’s environmental cleanup and the redevelopment by buyers and end users of RACER’s former General Motors Corp. (GMC) properties have resulted in 72,630 jobs and more than $6.1 billion a year in labor income, according to an analysis by a leading economic research firm.
The analysis by Industrial Economics, Incorporated, found that for the 14 years between RACER’s effective date of March 31, 2011 and April 1, 2025, investments and the jobs created by buyers and end users of RACER’s former GM properties, along with RACER’s expenditures on holding, cleanup and repositioning of properties, is generating an estimated $25.8 billion in annual economic output for communities in 13 states.
RACER was established following the GMC bankruptcy with a dual mandate — to remediate impacted properties, where necessary, and sell them for redevelopment and reuse. To date, RACER has completed 98 property transactions covering more than 5,000 acres and 22.5 million square feet of building space and has secured regulatory closure on 58 formerly contaminated parcels.
“Since our first day on the job, RACER has maintained an intense focus on carrying out our obligations as set forth by the parties who crafted the GMC bankruptcy settlement agreement. We are pleased that our work is generating such positive outcomes for communities across our 13-state footprint,” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, Administrative Trustee of RACER Trust. “Results like this require commitment and buy-in from multiple parties, including but not limited to buyers and developers, environmental regulators, economic development organizations, community leaders and experienced cleanup teams. In addition to our cleanup and redevelopment activities, RACER has acted as an advocate for our communities, identifying and sharing grant opportunities, connecting local leaders with state and national resources, hiring local contractors to perform cleanups and incorporating local infrastructure needs with site remediation and redevelopment plans. We are very proud of the results we have helped achieve and remain dedicated to driving positive outcomes for our communities.”
Several successful redevelopment and reuse projects are generating significant recurring economic benefits in RACER communities. Examples include Pontiac, Mich. (United Shore Mortgage, 4,300 jobs, among others); Lordstown, Ohio (Ultium Cells, 3,200 jobs), Moraine, Ohio (Fuyao Automotive, 3,022 jobs); Wilmington, Del. (Amazon.com, 3,000 jobs); and Romulus, Mich. (multiple tenants, 2,006 jobs).
About RACER Trust: RACER (Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response) Trust was created to clean up and position for redevelopment properties and other facilities owned by the former General Motors Corp. before its 2009 bankruptcy. When it was formed in 2011, RACER was one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States and was the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. Its initial property holdings were at 83 locations in 13 states, principally in the Midwest and Northeast. The Trust was created by a settlement agreement in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court between the U.S. Government, the states where the former GM properties are located, and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, which owns land adjoining one of the properties in Upstate New York. For more information, please visit our website: www.racertrust.org.
Source: Press release
