Brent Snavely

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT — Google may have hatched its self-driving cars in California's Silicon Valley, but it is returning to the traditional heart of the auto industry to develop it.

John Krafcik, CEO of Google's Self-Driving Car Project, said Wednesday that the tech giant will open a 53,000-squaree-foot development center in the Detroit suburb of Novi. He made the announcement in a post on Google+.

Krafcik said the Novi development center will serve as a hub that Google will use to work with a number of partners in the automotive industry.

Google has been working on self-driving cars for more than six years. Last month, Google announced a partnership with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to transform 100 2017 Chrysler Pacifica hybrid minivans into self-driving vehicles.

"For the past few years, members of our team have been working from the Greater Detroit area. Now it’s time to lay down roots: we’re establishing a self-driving technology development center in Novi," Krafcik said in his Google+ post today.

"Many of our current partners are based here, so having a local facility will help us collaborate more easily and access Michigan's top talent in vehicle development and engineering. At this 53,000-square-foot development center, our engineers, working with local partners, will further develop and refine self-driving technology. One of the first tasks will be to ready our self-driving Pacifica hybrid minivans."

Krafcik said Google will be moving in this year. He did not provide an exact location.

While Google parent company Alphabet also has offices in Ann Arbor and Birmingham, this would be the tech company's first office in Michigan for the testing and development of autonomous vehicles.