Ford invests millions in Detroit downtown revival

A historic Michigan landmark got a face lift thanks to Ford Motor Company after sitting vacant for over three decades.

Michigan Central Station, which became an “infamous symbol of Detroit,” was bought by Ford in 2018. Over the past six years, 3,100 skilled-trades people worked 1.7 million hours to completely restore the station, so it could house the automaker’s autonomous vehicle team as well as shops and restaurants that will be open to the public. 

The abandoned train station, which opened Thursday for the first time in 34 years, is now the centerpiece of Michigan Central, which is described as a 30-acre technology and cultural hub in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood. 

Ford is not just planning to house its own employees. It is expecting the newly revived area to also draw in companies, entrepreneurs and students to “create new products, services, and technologies that add value to a new generation of Ford customers and help build a better world,” according to Ford, whose headquarters are in Dearborn, Michigan. 

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“This is such an iconic building that really represented the decay of Detroit in many Midwestern cities,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said on “Barron’s Roundtable” Thursday, boasting that the city and company are simultaneously growing.

“The car company Ford is growing. We didn’t go bankrupt many years ago. And now, despite the EV headwinds, the city is thriving. Ford is starting to thrive,” Farley said. 

He touted that the station is not only beautiful, but “a symbol for what can be done in America.” 

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The station, originally designed by architects behind New York’s famed Grand Central, opened its doors in 1913. At one time, it had 4,000 daily passengers. However, it shuttered in 1988 after decades of declining rail travel. The building suffered from severe neglect, weathering, decay and vandalism before the automaker decided to turn it around. 

The company did not only invest tens of millions in the building, the 30 surrounding acres have also been transformed into what Ford says is a new hub for the future of innovation, the American auto industry and a blueprint for urban renewal across America.

Later this year, the company will move its Ford Model e and Ford Integrated Services teams into newly renovated office space across three floors. About 1,000 Ford employees will work across the Michigan Central district by the end of the year. However, they are looking to more than double that figure by 2028. 

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There will also be a dedicated youth programming floor in the station’s tower with 23,000 square feet of flexible space to house local and national organizations aimed at “growing the next generation,” according to Ford.

Not only is there a “network of green spaces,” but local programming and events, as well as arts and cultural opportunities, will take place in the area, according to the company.