Warren sets Oct. 20 hearings on a tax break for beauty-products maker Merit Manufacturing

WARREN, Mich. — The Warren City Council will hold public hearings on Tuesday, Oct. 20, on Merit Manufacturing’s request for a property tax break tied to improvements at its plant on Enterprise Court, according to a notice from the council office.

The request comes in two steps. The council would first establish an Industrial Development District on the property, then consider an Industrial Facilities Tax Exemption certificate. The notice says the exemption would support upgrades to the site, where the company makes, distributes and warehouses hygiene and beauty products. Merit files the request under the name Square M LLC.

Both hearings are scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Warren Community Center, 5460 Arden. The later of two versions of the notice the city posted on Oct. 2 lists the first-floor auditorium; the earlier one listed Conference Room A.

The exemptions are allowed under Public Act 198 of 1974, a state law that covers manufacturers and certain high-tech operations. A qualifying plant can have its real and personal property taxes cut by 50% for as long as 12 years, according to the city’s economic development office. The mayor recommends how many years to grant under city guidelines, and the council decides.

Warren says it uses the abatements to build up and renew its industrial tax base and to hold on to jobs.

The notice invites comment from residents and taxpayers as well as from school districts and other local governments that levy property taxes on the site.

The notice does not say how much Merit plans to spend or how many jobs the project would add or keep. In a Sept. 14 letter asking the council to set the hearings, the city attorney’s office said the applications, resolutions and supporting materials would reach council members beforehand.

The company has used the program before. Warren granted Merit an exemption certificate in October 2023 so it could move operations from four separate Sterling Heights buildings into one Warren facility, Macomb County’s economic development office reported that November. The county said then that Merit expected to invest more than $9.1 million in the Warren site and add about 90 jobs.

Merit, which the county said was founded in 2017, makes personal-care and cleaning products under contract, handling everything from formulas to shipping for brands sold nationwide.

Updated Oct. 16, 2026: Replaced an AI-generated illustration with a licensed file photograph of the Warren Civic Center, home of City Hall.

Sources:
City of Warren, Notice of Public Hearings, Industrial Development District and Industrial Facilities Tax Exemption Certificate, Square M LLC d/b/a Merit Manufacturing, https://www.cityofwarren.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/IDD.IFT-public-notice-Merit-Industries1-ID-122326-3.pdf
City of Warren, Council communications, Sept. 22, 2026 (City Attorney’s Office letter of Sept. 14, 2026), https://www.cityofwarren.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Council-Communication-9-22-2026_compressed.pdf
City of Warren, “Industrial Facilities” (tax abatement process), https://www.cityofwarren.org/government/c-e-d-development/industrial-facilities/
Macomb County, “Merit Manufacturing continues growing in Macomb County,” Nov. 21, 2023, https://www.macombgov.org/macomb-business/news/merit-manufacturing-continues-growing-macomb-county
Photo: Ajay Suresh, “Warren - Warren Civic Center (50826952147).jpg,” Dec. 24, 2020, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/), cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Warren_-_Warren_Civic_Center_(50826952147).jpg
City of Warren, “Guide to City Hall,” accessed Oct. 16, 2026, https://www.cityofwarren.org/guide-to-city-hall/

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