GM expansion reflects a long history of growth in Arlington

The most recent announcement of expansion at the General Motors operations in Arlington is a big deal in more ways than one.

First, it is the largest economic development deal ever for the city. As Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley reminded the audience attending the July 14 announcement, it’s even bigger than Jerry World.

Second, it’s the greatest new investment that GM will make this year — anywhere.

The highlights of what’s going to happen at the automaker’s facility include $1.4 billion in capital investment, 1.2 million square feet of new floor space and close to 600 new jobs.

A conservative estimate of the indirect jobs that will be created in the community as a result of this investment comes to about 2,500, while GM’s own projections say it will be closer to double that total.

Beyond the numbers associated with the good news is a reminder of just how much impact the business of assembling automobiles and trucks has had since it all started with the 1951 revelation that GM was coming to what was then the very small town of Arlington.

The story traces its origins all the way back to the days of the Great Depression and Fort Worth patriarch Amon Carter. He wanted an auto plant in Fort Worth.

In his characteristic style of never taking “no” for an answer when chasing something he wanted for his hometown, he continued his constant and earnest pursuit of the big company following the end of World War II.

The company decided that the wide open spaces of southeast Arlington along the Bankhead Highway and adjacent to a major rail line fit its needs best, and Amon’s role in that ultimate decision resulted in him being invited to turn the first spade of dirt at the ceremonial groundbreaking.

That event was presided over by the “boy mayor,” Tommy Vandergriff, who had sought the office just so, as he explained to me some years ago, he could get the attention of GM’s executives and convince them to take a look at Arlington.

Although Vandergriff said he never intended to pursue a political career, the GM decision opened a door of possibilities. Beyond that door, the “can do” spirit of the town and its youthful mayor built one success upon another for the ensuing 25 years of his long service.

Nothing is forever. A late-1991 phone call during my time as Arlington’s mayor floored me like few others. GM’s chairman called to tell me the company was going to close one of the two plants that were building the Caprice — an ill-starred vehicle that had lost most of its appeal to car buyers.

He said I should prepare our community for the likelihood that our plant would be the one shuttered. The other factory lay in the shadow of the Detroit headquarters and was the odds-on favorite to survive.

With the help of Gov. Ann Richards, our Washington congressional delegation, the Arlington UAW, all local leaders and the community at large, we convinced the big company’s executives that their interests could best be served here.

A couple of years later, the plant started building pickup trucks. Then, through further improvements and upgrades to the assembly line, came production of the most popular SUVs in the company’s lineup.

All that and much more led to last week’s big announcement. Jeff Williams became the latest Arlington mayor to stand beside GM managers and labor leaders in front of the news media and talk about what the big plant means to Arlington and all of North Texas.

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "GM expansion reflects a long history of growth in Arlington."