RACER Trust to Participate in Great Lakes Economic Forum

RACER Trust today announced that its Deputy Redevelopment Manager, Patricia Spitzley, will participate in the Council of the Great Lakes Region’s fourth Great Lakes Economic Forum, to take place May 3-5 in Montréal, Québec.

The Great Lakes Economic Forum, launched in Chicago in 2015, is the premier cross-border policy conference and trade show dedicated to growing the regional economy. Among the hundreds of attendees are industry executives, senior government officials and policy experts, academics and other stakeholders from the United States and Canada who are focused on sustainable growth and improving the lives of people who live in the region.

RACER Trust owns several former industrial properties in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River region — including in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and New York — that it is marketing for sale and beneficial reuse. Sales of RACER Trust properties in those states have resulted in thousands of new, permanent full-time jobs, with more investments and hiring planned.

“RACER Trust is committed to doing all we can to help our communities grow and prosper, and one way we do that is by developing relationships, spreading the word and staying engaged with organizations, events and issues that bring us closer to the market and the people who make decisions about business investments,” said Elliott P. Laws, of EPLET, LLC, administrative trustee of RACER Trust. “Our Redevelopment team works tirelessly to promote our properties and our communities, and we will remain focused on carrying out our mission until each of the properties in our portfolio are positioned to maximize their reuse potential.”

“Events like the Great Lakes Forum provides RACER with invaluable access to business leaders, policy makers, economic development consultants and others who play essential roles in commercial real estate sales and development,” Ms. Spitzley said. “At the same time, we are able to share our own experiences and insights, which we hope is helpful to our colleagues, regardless of whether they buy a RACER property or locate in a RACER community.”  

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. RACER is one of the largest holders of industrial property in the United States, and when it was formed was the largest environmental response and remediation trust in U.S. history. When the Trust was formed, it owned properties at 89 locations in 14 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 14 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.