Ford recently confirmed its interest in purchasing Michigan Central Station in Corktown. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, Edsel Ford II said the company’s board of directors was made aware of plans to purchase the infamously abandoned station as part of a redevelopment of Corktown. The building is currently owned by the family of billionaire Manuel Moroun.
The station, its 230-foot-tall, 18-floor office tower, and the 110,000-sf concourse have been vacant since 1988. Despite recent improvements, such as the installation of 1,100 new windows at a cost of $8 million, the abandoned facility would require a substantial reconstruction and renovation effort to get it back to working order.
See Also: Ford begins 10-year plan to centralize Dearborn, Mich., campus
Ford has already purchased a building in Corktown and wants to establish a campus in the area to have its autonomous and electric vehicle units in one spot. The interest in purchasing Michigan Central Station to spur a redevelopment in the Corktown area could be an attempt to attract young talent to support the company’s more future-forward goals, i.e. its autonomous and electric vehicle plans.
Michigan Central Station has been the focus of many potential restoration projects, but, to this point, none have been able to move passed the negotiation phase.
Update
Ford has officially purchased Michigan Central Station. According to the Detroit Free Press, the campus will become the hub of a new campus focused on advanced automotive technology. Ford also purchased the neighboring book depository building, also owned by the Morouns. More details about Ford's plans for the site will be revealed at a media event on June 19th.
Related Stories
Reconstruction & Renovation | Sep 30, 2020
SOM reimagines former Cook County Hospital into mixed-use destination
The project is the first phase of a proposed $1 billion redevelopment plan for the area in Chicago.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 24, 2020
Texaco’s century-old headquarters is now a luxury apartment community
After sitting vacant for nearly three decades, the former home of Texaco, Inc. has been converted into a 17-story, 286-unit apartment building in the heart of downtown Houston.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Aug 21, 2020
Reconstruction could be COVID-19’s silver lining
Existing buildings are being adapted to the ‘new normal’ for health and wellness.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Aug 20, 2020
Former jail to be reimagined and integrated into Dallas’s Harold Simmons Park
Weiss/Manfredi was selected as the design architect for the project.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jun 8, 2020
Spacesmith will design sustainable production facilities for Upriver Studios in New York
The project will be located in Saugerties in upstate New York.
Coronavirus | Apr 9, 2020
COVID-19 alert: Robins & Morton to convert Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed field hospital
COVID-19 alert: Robins & Morton to convert Miami Beach Convention Center into a 450-bed field hospital
Reconstruction & Renovation | Mar 3, 2020
Not so strange bedfellows: hybrid buildings in New York combine unlikely tenants
“Found money” for owners looking to monetize their air spaces, says FXCollaborative, which has designed several of these buildings.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jan 16, 2020
Snøhetta’s 550 Madison Garden gains approval from NYC Planning Commission
The project previously gained approval from Manhattan Community Board 5 in December.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Nov 6, 2019
The silent giant: Reconstruction sector makes big impact on firms
More than a quarter of AEC firms that participated in the 2019 Giants 300 survey earned at least half of their total 2018 revenue from the reconstruction sector.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Oct 7, 2019
Central Park’s Lasker Rink and Pool to undergo $150 million restoration project
The project will be the largest the Central Park Conservancy has ever undertaken.
