That slogan blazed across the stage as the vintage vinyl tune “Here Comes the Sun” played to a packed house at the APSU Communications Building Monday afternoon.

Hemlock President and CEO Rick Doornbos, Governor Phil Bredesen, Dow Corning President and CEO Stephanie Burns and Matt Kisber field questions from the press when the formal announcement ceremony concluded

A “Who’s Who” roster of state, county and local government officials  and business leaders from Michigan and Montgomery County gathered on the Austin Peay State University campus  for the “historic” official announcement of Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor LLC multi-billion dollar development at Clarksville’s megasite in the northeastern edge of the city.

This is a “watershed of economic development in Tennessee,” said Matt Kessner of the Economic Development Council. “New jobs  in the development of sustainable energy.”

After a two-year global site search, Dow Corning and the Hemlock group opted to make an initial $1.2 billion initial investment in the construction of  a new polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) manufacturing and development facility. Polysilicon is key to the development of solar industry. Groundbreaking on the new plant is expect early in 2009, creating  up to 1,000  jobs in construction and related crafts during the building phase; the facility is earmarked to open in 2012.

Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen  joined Hemlock’s CEO and President  Rick Doornbos in making the announcement. “It’s the right company in the right community at the right time,” Bredesen said of what will ultimately be a $2 billion investment.  “What they make is what has to happen to make solar energy. The numbers are staggering.” Bredensen noted that t is not simply the immediate creation of new job but the ability to also attract related industries and  suppliers to the state and the region.

“This announcement offers solar industry leaders confidences that polysilicon supply will be available as the solar and electronics industries continue to grow and innovate. The exact scale of this investment will be determined by market conditions. Making this investment in today’s volatile economic climate is a testament to both the long term outlook of the solar industry, as well as Hemlock Semiconductor’s ability to add capacity to meet the needs of customers.” — Rick Doornbos

Doornbos said his frm looked at “over two dozen sites around the world” before settling on Clarksville and cited the importance not just location but the community itself as key to the final decision.

Polysilicon is used in the production of everything from cell phone and computers to solar panels.  The total investment by Hemlock in Clarksville will be at least $2.5 billion and at its onset of production will initially produce  1o,000 metric tons of capacity at the site, with the potential to expand to a production level of 21,000 metric tons. When the site is ready in 2012, some 500 permanent jobs will be created, with a potential increase to 800 when expanded. Construction of the site will employ 1,000 workers  over a five to seven year period.

From left, Governor Phil Bredesen and Mayor Johnny Piper hear the words "It's official."

Most of the polysilicon produced at the Clarksville site will be consumed by firms in the solar industry but the facility will also be capable of producing pure silicon for the electronics industry as well as solar-grade material.  The energy required for polysilicon manufacturing will be recouped “eight to fifteen times over” in future use and applications, Doornbos said.

Stephanie A. Burns, Dow Corning’s President and CEO, said her company was “committing our resources, know-how and technology because we are confident that solar technology represents a tremendous opportunity for both clean energy and economic growth.

In conjunction with this new industrial development, APSU has received a $6.4 million grant to develop and implement training programs in related fields from microbiology to engineering.

“We are (making this investment) for a 21st century America. We will retrain workers. We will encourage solar investment and call for a national commitment to environmentally responsible and renewable energy goals.”

Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper thanked the hundreds of people involved in bringing this industry to the city.

During the announcement, Hemlock and Dow Corning presented two checks of $25,000 each to the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and to the Imagination Library as an indicator of the start of their investment in the social fabric of the community.

Standing room only as government officials, educators, economic development organizations assembled at APSU

Partners in this business venture are:

Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation headquartered in Hemlock, Michigan. The company has produced high-purity polysilicon for over 45 years.

Henlock Semiconductor LLC is a newly formed venture between Dow Corning Corporation, Shin-Etsu Handotai, and Mitsubishi Materials Corporations.

Dow Corning Corporation is a global leader in polysilicon innovation and technology. Dow Corning of Midland, Michigan, which manufacturses more than 7,000 products and services, is a joint venture owned  by Dow Chemical Company and Corning Inc.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will host a fact finding meeting tonight on the controversial downtown redevelopment plan, dubbed “the blight bill,” including its eminent domain and assemblage issues. The meeting will be held at the New Providence Outreach Center, 207 Oak Street, in Clarksville at 7:00 p.m.

The redevelopment plan was first brought to the attention of federal officials this summer, when local NAACP President Jimmie Garland submitted some concerns to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The plan as it was passed contained language that effectively “blighted” the entire downtown business district — two square miles.

Angry residents challenge the redevelopment ordinance at a series of public meetings on the issue

Property owners, in response to this legislation, formed the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition to challenge this ordinance.William Dirl, field office director of the Nashville HUD office, expressed concerns in a letter to Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper that the redevelopment plan did not emphasize providing housing rehabilitation to existing residents nor did it protect low to moderate home owners from eminent domain abuse.

Representatives from the NAACP, Clarksville Property Rights Coalition and the Institute for Justice a national advocacy group supporting the community will  attend the meeting.

Elected officials, community leaders have been invited to attend. The meeting is also open to interested members of the public and the media.

For more information please contact meeting coordinator Mr. Terry McMoore, Director, Urban Resource Center at (931) 378-1999 or Jimmie Garland, NAACP President, at (931) 216-6745

Christina Walsh, Director of Community Organization, Institute for Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (USDOJ) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will host a fact finding meeting on November 20 at 7 p.m. at the New Providence Outreach Center, 207 Oak Street, in Clarksville. This is a precursor to a larger public forum on downtown redevelopment issues.

The redevelopment plan was first brought to the attention of federal officials this summer, when local NAACP President Jimmie Garland submitted some concerns to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

William Dirl, field office director of the Nashville HUD office, expressed concerns in a letter to Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper that the redevelopment plan did not emphasize providing housing rehabilitation to existing residents.

Elected officials, community leaders and civic organizations have been invited to attend. The meeting is also open to interested members of the public.

Christina Walsh serves as the Coordinator for the Institute for Justice’s Castle Coalition. Through her outreach efforts and grassroots organizing, she helps property owners nationwide to fight eminent domain abuse.

Walsh travels the country, educating and organizing property owners and activists whose properties are threatened by eminent domain for private gain. Through community meetings, rallies, protests and workshops, Walsh has helped defeat tax-hungry governments that seek to condemn perfectly fine properties for land-hungry private developers. She successfully organized home and small business owners in Chicago, Ill., Wilmington, Del., New York City, and across New Jersey, and has forged strong alliances that span the philosophical spectrum. Walsh has been quoted extensively in news outlets across the country.

Walsh provides legislative support to state and local lawmakers, and coordinates Perspectives on Eminent Domain Abuse, a new series of independently authored reports published by the Institute for Justice that examine the issue of eminent domain.

Christina received her undergraduate degree in Political Theory from the University of Virginia in 2004, and joined the Institute upon graduation.

This meeting format will best help identify to USDOJ and HUD the issues and non-compliance that will and have already come about since this redevelopment plan was put together. The USDOJ and HUD will use the information gathered at this meeting to determine the best possible way to effectively engage the community in the next phase of this process.  Please RSVP to Terry McMoore at the Urban Resource Center,

]]> http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/11/19/institute-for-justice-to-send-representative-to-forum-with-department-of-justice/feed/ 0 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/31/african-american-leaders-to-meet-with-montgomery-county-mayor-redevelopment-plan-review-committee-members/ http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2008/08/31/african-american-leaders-to-meet-with-montgomery-county-mayor-redevelopment-plan-review-committee-members/#comments Sun, 31 Aug 2008 16:00:27 +0000 News Staff http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/?p=8356 A group of concerned leaders from the African American community in Clarksville will meet with Montgomery County Mayor Carolyn Bowers and County Commissioners on September 3 at the Old Courthouse Building, 1 Millennium Plaza (2nd & Commerce), in downtown Clarksville, at 4:00 p.m.  Commissioners Mark Banasiak, Ron Sokol and Martha Brockman, the ad hoc subcommittee members reviewing the controversial Clarksville Center Redevelopment and Urban Renewal Plan, will participate in the meeting.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in response to a complaint filed by the Clarksville NAACP found numerous flaws in the Clarksville Center Redevelopment and Urban Renewal Plan voted into law by the City Council with full support of City of Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper.

The plan, which effectively “blights” two square miles of downtown Clarksville, has been a center of controversy and triggered the formation of the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition, which is lobbying for its repeal. The ordinance allows for use of eminent domain and provides an assemblage clause for developers seeking to acquire neded propoerties for redevelopment and /or urban renewal.

In a letter requesting an audience with this committee, Urban Resource Center Director, Terry McMoore, stressed the following:

“We are very concerned that this plan in its current form does not protect low income homeowners from losing their homes and that it also violates the voting and civil rights of the citizens of Clarksville – Montgomery County’s only Majority Minority voting ward and district”.

Mayor Bowers commissioned this review committee to look into whether Montgomery County government should partner with the City of Clarksville in this Redevelopment and Urban Renewal Plan.