TILTON, Ill. (WAND) - A General Motors plant that has been closed for decades in Vermilion County is set to be fully demolished.Â
Tilton Mayor David Phillips said the GM Central Foundry plant will be fully demolished after a permit was issued to take down the rest of it. The plant is based in the Tilton area.Â
Before it shuttered in 1995, the plant employed more people than Tilton, which has a population of 2,700. The foundry offered strong competitive benefits to employees. The News-Gazette reports those were so good that the presence of GM intimidated other prospective employers from coming to Vermilion County.Â
The Central Foundry had a major effect on the Danville-Tilton economy, with an annual payroll in the range of $50 million. Phillips, who was a village employee at the time, said the I-74 interchange next to the plant was very busy when it was operating, especially at shift changes. When the foundry closed, a gas station across the street shut down almost immediately after.Â
Before the closure, the local economic development office in Danville had anticipated a domino effect the foundry closing would cause and surveyed 64 area businesses. The businesses estimated annual losses from the closure to cost from $25,000 to amounts as high as $100,000 to $1 million.Â
With the plant long gone, Phillips said Tilton is working with a "potential occupant" to move into the village. Few details have been released as of Wednesday.Â
"I am working hard every single day to bring businesses to our community and as always to serve in the best interest of you all," Phillips said.
