LANSING – A plan by Zeeland-based Gentex to hire 1,100 new employees over the next five years received support from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority on Tuesday as it approved a Michigan Business Tax credit for the jobs equal to $2.4 million.

The credit will run for the next three years while the automotive parts manufacturer expands its facilities in Zeeland and Holland Township. The local governments are likely to approve $7.2 million in property tax abatements for Gentex as part of the deal.

Steve Dykman, vice president of finance and CFO for Gentex, told the MEGA board the building costs will total $46 million, with most of that spent by the end of this year. The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said the company’s total investment will be $160 million as it increases space and adds new production equipment.

The MEGA board also amended the company’s original MEGA credit from 2002 to allow it to cover jobs at both campuses. The board was told it was difficult to keep track of which employees fell under the original MEGA credit site now that the company has expanded its facilities.

The board also acted on a brownfield redevelopment plan in Trenton. The brownfield authority there will capture $2.2 million from state and local taxes to redevelop the former Riverside Hospital, which closed in 2002.

City Administrator Robert Cady said the hospital’s closure devastated Trenton’s downtown.

“Only the scrappers were interested (in the site),” he said.

Dr. Iqbal Nasir said the site will now house a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center.

“Every time I see (the site now) the windows are broken,” he said. “Finally things will turn around and I’m happy to help.”

The MEDC expects up to $12 million in new investment for the project and up to 163 permanent full-time jobs.

The board also unanimously approved amendments to previous brownfield work plans.

One deals with the East Village Housing Project in Lansing. The original developer “ran right smack dab into the financial and home loan crisis,” said Karl Dorshimer, vice president of the Lansing Economic Development Corporation, and eventually went out of business.

But Allen Edwin is the new developer with a new plan for single-family homes on the site instead of multi-family dwellings. The MEGA board approved an additional $26,000 in state and local tax capture for the project.

The board also approved another $6.8 million for local and state tax capture associated with the Boardman Lake Avenue Pathway and Trail System project in Grand Traverse County.

The project originally received tax capture of $3.3 million in 2001.

Local officials said the project will expand the trail system and link more commercial, retail and residential space.

The tax capture covers 15 years, which is longer than the usual projects approved by the MEGA board.

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