The former Cadillac Stamping plant site is one step closer to redevelopment after the Detroit City Council approved Tuesday a 12-year tax abatement for the $47.8 million project on the city’s east side.

The council unanimously approved an Industrial Facilities Exemption Certificate for the project at 9501 Conner, which includes the construction of a new multi-tenant industrial and manufacturing facility. Developer Missouri-based NorthPoint Development has valued the incentive at $8 million.

“We are grateful for the city of Detroit’s partnership in redeveloping this site to address the lack of industrial space in the region,” said Tim Condor, director of development for NorthPoint Development.

Condor said the tax exemption will allow the company to demolish the existing plant, to remediate the site of hazardous materials and to build a 684,000-square-foot industrial building “that will create hundreds of jobs and generate tax revenue for the city, county and state.”

Officials say they expect demolition to begin next month. The approval, granted to an affiliated entity named NP Conner Avenue Industrial LLC, comes after the developer worked with the community and city officials to address concerns over air quality, traffic, zoning and job opportunities for Detroit residents.

Among the changes are a reduction in zoning from heavy to light industrial as well as a traffic pattern change in the area, said Councilman Scott Benson.

“They’ve committed to a vegetative buffer, they’ve provided the last-minute requests for an air quality study as well as traffic study, and they’ve committed to being good corporate citizens and investing in the city of Detroit and ensuring that our residents have first shot at these jobs,” Benson said.

“As we know development in the city of Detroit can be a challenge and there are others who want our jobs. I’m just looking forward to seeing this development in the third district and prioritizing Detroit residents to get these jobs moving forward.”

Condor said the company plans to work with the city’s Detroit at Work program to give employment preference to Detroit residents.

NorthPoint has said it plans to target the new facility toward automotive suppliers and advanced manufacturing and logistics. The building is expected to be operational in January 2022, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corp.

Mayor Mike Duggan thanked council for its unanimous vote and said it was one of the most important of the year: “That plant was closed in 1987. It has been sitting there as a huge eyesore for more than 30 years and we had no way to deal with it. Now, NorthPoint is going to take it down with their own money.”

Duggan added that he’s confident “we are going to land an auto supplier” that will supply to the new GM plant.

“Detroit is going to be competing with communities in southeast Michigan and across the Midwest,” he said. “We are going after every single one of those supplier plants. But our competitors in other cities have beautiful industrial parks that they are ready to build on tomorrow. We’ve got sites that have 30-year-old factories that need to be knocked down. If we don’t have the mayor and council working together we’re going to lose every time.”

The local tax incentive approval follows $3.3 million in brownfield tax credits that the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Michigan Strategic Fund board granted to the developer last month.

cwilliams@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @CWilliams_DN

Christine Ferretti contributed.