Frontier Truck Pa
rts, which plans to open a new business near 144th Avenue in the Dorr Industrial Development District won a 10-year tax abatement Thursday night from the Dorr Township Board.
Formerly known as Weller Truck Parts, the business, now headquartered on Chicago Drive in Wyoming, plans to build a more than $7.5 million facility with an added $1 million in equipment. Two buildings will be constructed on the site and Frontier spokespersons have estimated the addition of 26 to 50 new jobs.
Approval for an industrial facilities tax exemption under Public Act 98, was granted after a public hearing in which there was very little comment and no opposition voiced.
The tax break will be for up to 50 percent for the 10-year period.
Total cost of the project is expected to be between $7.5 million and $8.5 million.
Frontier’s web site reports, “Since 2000 we have been supplying quality medium and heavy duty truck parts, with thousands of parts in our inventory.”
The Frontier spokesman told the board there is plenty of dirt at the site and it will start moving for construction almost immediately after approval of the abatement.
Frontier announced plans to develop a 65-acre site in October 2014 and the Dorr Township Planning Commission persuaded business officials to seek a mixed used zoning rather than a planned unit development (PUD). The plans included building a 78,000-square-foot sales facility and a 56,000-square-foot warehouse building along U.S.-131 in the Dorr Township industrial park area.
Frontier Truck Parts recycles parts largely from salvage trucks and large commercial vehicles, rebuilds damaged parts and components and sells undamaged parts, as well as new truck parts.
Frontier Truck Parts is a member of the Weller family of automotive parts businesses and traces its roots to the wagon repair business in 1862. The truck parts division was established in 1931.
