Road Grant Paves Way For Gentex

ZEELAND — A $624,000 state grant will help pay for street improvements needed to accommodate Gentex Corp.’s construction of a new $12.6 million manufacturing plant.

The City of Zeeland will supplement the grant from the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Transportation Economic Development Fund with $156,000 in local funding to pay for the $780,000 project.

The street improvements include widening Riley Street between Fairview Road and North Centennial Drive to allow easier turning movements and increased safety for traffic going to the new Gentex facility being developed on North Centennial, across from the corporation’s corporate headquarters.

The 200,000-square-foot plant, targeted for occupancy in 2005, will produce Gentex’s popular automatic-dimming automotive mirrors, resulting in the creation of 250 new jobs.

The state grant was one of three that MDOT awarded last month totaling $6.2 million, to accommodate $258.6 million in new investments that will create or retain 3,316 jobs.