April 19, 2024
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Peru takes another step in manufacturer’s development

Council approves sales, pre-development agreement at special meeting

By Derek Barichello
The farm field located just to the south of the Northern White Sand shipping station will be the new location for GAF, a New Jersey based roofing manufacture on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 in Peru. The business will occupy 142 acres off of Plank Road. GAF is North America's largest roofing manufacture with over 3,700 jobs nationwide in 26 locations across the United States.

The farm field located just to the south of the Northern White Sand shipping station will be the new location for GAF, a New Jersey based roofing manufacture on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 in Peru. The business will occupy 142 acres off of Plank Road. GAF is North America's largest roofing manufacture with over 3,700 jobs nationwide in 26 locations across the United States. (Scott Anderson)

The Peru City Council approved a sales and pre-development agreement Thursday with Building Materials Manufacturing Corporation, moving another step closer to bringing a new manufacturer to the community.

According to a legal notice published Thursday in the NewsTribune announcing an extension of an enterprise zone for the development, the corporation’s parent company is GAF Materials Corporation, which is a roofing materials manufacturer.

The development is expected to bring more than 70 jobs to the area.

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The farm field located just to the south of the Northern White Sand shipping station will be the new location for GAF, a New Jersey based roofing manufacture on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 in Peru. The business will occupy 142 acres off of Plank Road. GAF is North America's largest roofing manufacture with over 3,700 jobs nationwide in 26 locations across the United States.

The farm field located just to the south of the Northern White Sand shipping station will be the new location of a new manufacturer in Peru. The business will occupy 142 acres off of Plank Road. A legal notice in the NewsTribune indicated the manufacturer could be GAF, a roofing manufacturer. (Scott Anderson)

The project calls for development of 142 acres of recently-annexed land along Interstate 80, west of Plank Road. The Peru City Council has set the creation of a tax increment financing district in motion and will conduct a public hearing 6 p.m. Monday, June 6, to establish the TIF, then the council is expected to finalize it at its Monday, June 20, meeting. The manufacturer is expected to break ground sometime shortly after July 4.

“This is a step in the new development for the city of Peru,” said Peru Mayor Ken Kolowski at Thursday’s special council meeting. “A lot of people put a lot of hours and time into this project. The team has been absolutely fabulous. It’s been a great process, but it’s still a process.”

The council had no further discussion Thursday after voting in favor of the development agreement.

A hearing for the enterprise zone expansion announced in the Thursday legal notice will be 11:30 Tuesday, May 10, at Morris Country Club, 2615 W. U.S. 6, Morris.