Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, left, shakes hands Wednesday with Limestone County Commission Chairman Mark Yarbrough after finalizing an agreement to bring the joint Toyota-Mazda manufacturing facility to Huntsville-annexed Limestone County. The event was held at City Hall in Huntsville.

Regional officials formally sealed the deal Wednesday on a development agreement with Toyota and Mazda to bring a $1.6-billion advanced manufacturing facility to Huntsville-annexed Limestone County.

The agreement also required prior approval by the Huntsville City Council, followed by the signatures of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Limestone County Commission Chair Mark Yarbrough, chair of the Industrial Development Board of Huntsville, Hundley Batts and Huntsville City Council President Mark Russell.

“This is a generational project, and the team in this room made it happen,” Battle said. “Vision, planning and perseverance paid off. The best part of signing this contract is that it’s just the beginning.”

Yarbrough explained that while there’s been a “sense of euphoria” about the project, there remains much work to be done. Some of that work includes adding rail spurs requested by the companies and preparing the 2,400-acre site along Powell Road that will encompass the facility.

“We have the best workforce in America and they are ready to go,” Yarbrough said. “… Now it’s time to roll up sleeves and get to work.”

During a press conference, Battle applauded the efforts of other members of the team, including Huntsville Urban Development Director Shane Davis, city attorneys Trey Riley and Cissy Cates, Huntsville Finance Director Peggy Sergeant and representatives with the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce.

About the project

The Toyota-Mazda plant is expected to provide a $5.6-billion return on investment in the next 20 years. It will hire up to 4,000 workers and have an annual payroll of $200 million. The average salary per worker will be $50,000, which is exclusive of benefits.

It is anticipated the plants will produce 300,000 cars annually. The Toyota assembly line will produce Corollas, while Mazda will produce a crossover vehicle.

In turn, the city of Huntsville will offer incentives and abatements valued at $320 million.

The agreement includes about $80 million in “hard costs” for the city. Those will be used, in part, to acquire land and build a rail spur to connect to Norfolk Southern.

An additional $107 million will be spent on infrastructure improvements (roads/sewer) already budgeted in the 10-year capital plan. These projects will be accelerated to meet Toyota-Mazda’s timeline for opening in 2021. The bulk of the remaining costs are considered “indirect” and include waiving fees and permits, inspections support and non-educational tax abatements.