Ford Unveils Michigan Central Site Plan for Corktown
November 17, 2020
Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday unveiled its site plan for Michigan Central, the project to transform the area around the historic former train depot in the city’s Corktown neighborhood into a campus focused on the mobility and transportation methods that will define the future of the automotive industry.
At a virtual community meeting, the Dearborn automaker revealed its vision for the four-building, 30-acre campus, which it is in the midst of redeveloping via a $740 million project that aims to connect to the surrounding neighborhood. Ford described the planned campus as an “inclusive, vibrant and walkable innovation district.”
“Our vision is really about creating the future, and creating a hub for global innovation that will be anchored by 2,500 Ford employees and 2,500 others,” said Mary Culler, Ford’s development director for the project and president of the Ford Fund. “We want this to be a place where we can build new ways for people to have access to mobility, to lead better lives, and of course we want it to be a great destination for the community.”
Project leaders said that, despite delays caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the project remains on track, with the Book Depository building and a parking “hub” expected to open in early 2022 and Michigan Central Station on track to be completed by the end of 2022. The station’s restoration is in the middle of phase two out of three.
Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman, in 2018 first announced plans to restore Michigan Central Depot, which had been abandoned since 1988, into the centerpiece of an innovation hub that will eventually be home to some 5,000 employees.