Some landowners offered $50K an acre for their land ahead of Foxconn project
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Officials have confirmed a large plot of land here is the site for the proposed Foxconn manufacturing facility. Some landowners in the area said Wednesday they still have questions and worry the offers they'll eventually get for their land won't be as generous as the offers other receive. The mood at the Foxconn event Wednesday was been celebratory but Dan and Kim Peuschold feel differently.
Dan Peuschold
"I came out here 35 years ago because I wanted peace and quiet, a nice place to raise my family. And now, I'm hoping to play with my grandkids in my backyard but that's not gonna happen," Dan Peuschold said. The Peuscholds say they are aware of the purchase options other landowners have signed. Officials confirmed they have offered $50,000 per acre. Local government entities will pay for the land up front; under the agreement, Foxconn is to pay them back with tax money generated within a TIF district created around the campus. The Peuscholds said they have heard nothing and worry those offers are reserved for those with dozens of acres of farmland -- not simple homeowners.
"I only got an acre. Actually, 7/8ths. So it's not even an acre. So I'm not gonna get rich," Peuschold said.
Jenny Trick, Director of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation
Officials said they have covered 90% of the land in the first phase and are making progress with the other two phases. "A small number (of lots have option agreements) in area two. A larger number in area three," said Jenny Trick, director of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation. "There's three separate land situations and there's three separate purchasing strategies for all those," said Dave DeGroot, Mount Pleasant village president. When it comes to securing that land, officials said everything is on the table.
Dave DeGroot, Mount Pleasant Village President
"Anything is a possibility because this is such an astronomical scale," DeGroot replied when asked is eminent domain was a possibility. The Peuscholds said whether it is an agreement or an order, they dread the idea of leaving their dream home. They just want to know what the offer will be for their land. "We know nothing. No one talked to us. No one told us anything," Peuschold said. Racine attorney Tom Devine represents 20 landowners on the proposed Foxconn site, including the Peuscholds. Devine said he's optimistic each of the landowners on all three phases will eventually get fair offers.
Elected officials will be holding information sessions around the community to discuss infrastructure improvements and local financing options for this project: