BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — An unnamed manufacturer is planning to build a full-scale automotive supply plant in West Auburn that could eventually grow to more than 500,000 square feet and employ up to 130 people.
The project, identified in city records only by the name “Project V,” cleared a key hurdle after the Auburn City Council unanimously voted for approval during its Aug. 18 meeting.
The Auburn Planning Commission originally voted 9-0 to recommend approval of a conditional use permit for manufacturing at the site on Aug. 13.
According to documents provided during Tuesday’s meeting, the facility will sit on a nearly 27-acre site located at 3111 Haygood Court in the West Tech Park Annex.
The applicant is proposing what planning staff described as a full-scale manufacturing operation supporting the automotive industry.
The first phase would total roughly 304,000 square feet, anchored by a 285,434-square-foot production warehouse, a 12,227-square-foot office building and a 6,338-square-foot solvent storage building.
The plan also sets aside plenty of more room for growth moving forward.
Future expansions — listed on the concept plan at 177,272, 44,562 and 16,800 square feet, respectively — would add about 238,600 square feet, bringing the projected total buildout to roughly 542,600 square feet.
It was unclear exactly what those possible future expansions would be used for.
The company plans to hire 130 employees working across three shifts, according to the staff report.
City records did not identify who the manufacturer will be.
The permit application was filed by the Industrial Development Board of the City of Auburn — the public entity that typically recruits new industry — and the site design was submitted by Auburn-based Foresite Group.
Codenamed projects filed through an industrial development board are a common signal that a company is being recruited under a nondisclosure agreement, with the name withheld until incentives or a formal announcement are finalized.
In other business, the council:
Announced two vacancies on the Industrial Development Board for terms beginning Oct. 10 and ending Oct. 9, 2032. The council will fill those vacancies at its Sept. 15 meeting.
Announced one vacancy on the Lee County Youth Development Center board for a term beginning Oct. 1 and ending Sept. 30, 2030. The council will fill that vacancy at its Sept. 15 meeting.
Announced three vacancies on the West Pace Village Improvement District, with all terms beginning upon appointment. The first term will end on Sept. 15, 2030, the second on Sept. 15, 2031 and the third on Sept. 15, 2032. The council will fill those vacancies at its Sept. 15 meeting.
Approved a special retail alcohol license (30 days or Less) for Friendship Foods, which is doing business as Country’s Barbecue at the 350 Duncan Drive Green Space.
Approved a special events retail alcohol license for Greenawalt Hospitality, which is doing business as B and B Beta Theta Pi at 930 Lem Morrison Drive.
Approved a special events retail alcohol license for Downtown Entertainment, which is doing business as EN UF Game Day at 715 W. Magnolia Ave.
Approved a text amendment to the city’s zoning ordinance regarding travel center and truck stop uses.
Voted to amend the 14.2-acre Farmville Mixed-Use Planned Development District, which is located at the northwest corner of E. Farmville Road and U.S. Highway 280, by eliminating the multiple-family component to accommodate an increase in the commercial floor area from 12,000 square feet to 24,000 square feet
Approved a performance residential use (multi-unit development) for eight four-bedroom townhouses and a commercial office building for 152 Bragg Avenue, which is located at 152–160 Bragg Ave.
Approved a commercial and entertainment use (event center) for Celebration Event Center, which is located at 1000 Main St., Suite B.
Approved a performance residential use (multi-unit development) for 65 units for Chateau Apartments, which is located at 560 N. Gay St.
Approved a performance residential use (multi-unit development) for 126 units for LeMans Apartments, which is located at 560 Perry St.
Approved various non-residential conditional uses for the Farmville Mixed-Use project, which is located at the northwest corner of E. Farmville Road and U.S. Highway 280.
Approved a commercial and entertainment use (package store) for The Shoppes at Woodward Oaks, which is located at 1785 James Burt Parkway.
Approved an lounge retail alcohol beverage license for KCP 2026, which is doing business as The Spirit Vault at 1785 James Burt Parkway, Suite 104.
Approved a $611,559 contract with JLD Enterprises for the Town Creek Park Trail Extension.
