Ford's Detroit train station dream: Hundreds of workers, cars of future

Ford wants Michigan Central Station in Corktown to be a hub for the next generation of transportation known as Auto 2.0, the shift toward self-driving, shared and battery-operated cars and logistics supporting the rapidly changing industry.

Its work on a deal to occupy the long-vacant train station could bring hundreds of advanced technology jobs and a Ford executive presence to Detroit, the Free Press has learned.

Any deal involving Ford faces a multitude of obstacles and is weeks from being final, if it is completed at all.

Proposals to redevelop the iconic building, which has become symbolic of Detroit's ruins, have come and gone over the years. Negotiations with the depot owner, Manuel (Matty) Maroun, have been described by those familiar with recent discussions as complex and difficult. He has an established reputation as a tough negotiator often unwilling to close deals.

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Ford is considering perhaps a few hundred workers at the site and work space for top executives who would also keep offices at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn.

A Ford source cautioned that all talks are early and exploratory, from the number of employees located downtown to whether CEO Jim Hackett or Executive Chairman Bill Ford might have second offices there.

The mayor's office and his redevelopment team are working to make a deal a reality, the Free Press learned.

Although he didn’t confirm or share new details of the planned development, Mayor Mike Duggan said Wednesday: “I’ve been working on this train station for a while and it’s going to be exciting.”

Duggan said the news is particularly exciting after people have said for years that the train station, as well as other vacant properties in the city, would never be redeveloped.

“There’s going to be several more big announcements” in the next several months, Duggan said. “People want to be back here.”

While Ford has said that being in a hip section of a resurgent Detroit would enhance the drive toward innovation and recruitment of young people, the company reiterated on Wednesday its commitment to the City of Dearborn.

Executive offices at Ford headquarters, nicknamed the Glass House, have already been remodeled as part of an estimated $1.2-billion investment in Dearborn, Ford confirmed.

Two years ago, then-CEO Mark Fields unveiled plans to redevelop dozens of buildings in Dearborn that house more than 30,000 employees in a project designed to transform the automaker's presence in the city into two distinct campuses over 10 years.

Dearborn project

That project, according to news reports, was intended to give Ford's employees the work environment and technology necessary to design and develop cars of the future.

In addition to its headquarters off Michigan Avenue, Ford has nearly 70 disconnected buildings along Oakwood Boulevard.

"Ford World Headquarters was opened in 1956, and 60% of our buildings are more than 50 years old, so this is a very substantial investment for us," Fields said.

The plan consolidated the automaker's "fragmented footprint, and transforms it into two centralized campuses," he said.

Ford spokesman Said Deep said on Wednesday, "Even as we establish our presence in Corktown for our autonomous and electric vehicle teams, Dearborn remains our home. Ford’s Dearborn presence is expanding with two major projects under way. We are excited about opening our new Wagner Place development in downtown Dearborn this summer and our campus transformation is moving forward, which will complement our presence in Corktown."

In December, Ford announced its acquisition of a former pantyhose factory on Michigan Avenue in Corktown that would house about 220 employees known as Team Edison, working on advanced vehicle technologies.

Detroit roots

Henry Ford started the company in Detroit in 1903. The company later had executive offices in the RenCen on the Detroit River. But, for years, Ford has lacked a presence in the city where it started. And Corktown, known for its affiliation with Cork County, Ireland, is where the Ford family originally settled.

"That train station opened in 1913, and when it opened it was intended to be the gateway to the Midwest for Detroit," said Dave Sullivan, a former Ford production supervisor and son of a retired Ford finance employee who now does product analysis for AutoPacific Inc. "How fitting that Ford intends to rehab a 20th-Century train station for development of 21st-Century mobility."

Bob Kolt, a professor of advertising and public relations at Michigan State University, said moving into the train station could provide a competitive edge for Ford in a landscape where finding young talent is brutal in a competitive market.

"Young people like to be in urban areas and they like things that are cool. I think it would be a magnet," Kolt said. "The building is an icon. For past generations, we sort of see that building as a white elephant, as a big, old underused facility. But now, young people look and see opportunity and they can dream. Plus, people now want to live near where they work."

He isn't alone in seeing opportunity for transformation in the old neighborhood, which is home to popular destinations, including Slows Bar BQ, Nemo's Bar, Gold Cash Gold and Mercury Burger & Bar.

John McElroy, a longtime industry observer and TV host of "Autoline," said the automotive community is buzzing about the idea of Ford expanding into the train station.

"I think it's awesome," McElroy said. "In fact, instead of the train station, we can now call it the brain station. They'll recruit a lot of smart people that would want to work there. Corktown is red-hot. And I'm sure Ford is looking at this as a multiuse building — not just a bunch of offices. I'd expect baristas, bars, restaurants, retail. They could make it a mini city within Corktown."

Charles Bullard, economics professor at Michigan State University, said he sees neither and upside nor a downside to Ford from a business standpoint. "But the perception of being a part of Detroit’s resurgence is valuable."

At this point, the cost of renovation is projected to exceed $125 million and that doesn't include the land purchase.

Rashida Tlaib, who represented southwest Detroit for six years in the Michigan Legislature, expressed skepticism.

"As soon as I saw it I said, 'Welp, I'll believe it when I see it,' " said Tlaib, a nemesis of the Moroun family while she was in office. Tlaib, a lawyer seeking John Conyers' vacated U.S. House seat, said the Morouns hold property rather than selling it.

"I am hoping that the Ambassador Bridge Company did listen to the community and did decide to sell it, since they don't have any plans for the site," she said. "We're hoping that if it is with Ford that they actually turn over ownership, sell the property and allow Ford a chance to develop it because right now there is nothing happening there and we want someone who can actually complement what is already happening in the community."

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-222-6512 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter: @phoebesaid. Staff writers Katrease Stafford and Allie Gross contributed to this report..