DETROIT — Following a six-year renovation by Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Michigan Central Station is scheduled to officially open on Thursday, June 6. Ford embarked on the preservation project after acquiring the abandoned train station in 2018 to serve as the centerpiece of Michigan Central, a 30-acre technology and cultural hub in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood.
According to multiple media outlets, the rehabilitation of Michigan Central Station totaled $950 million and included the restoration of the 18-story train station, which is now dubbed The Station. The rehabilitation also included an adjacent 270,000-square-foot former book depository building and other supporting facilities. CNBC reports the project’s funding includes $300 million in state, local and historic rehabilitation tax incentives.
Christman-Brinker, a joint venture between Detroit-based firms The Christman Co. and L.S. Brinker, A Brinker Co., led the restoration work of The Station along with Ford. Key collaborators in Michigan Central include Ford, Google, the State of Michigan, the City of Detroit and Newlab, which operates the former book depository building.
The Station will provide 640,000 square feet of cultural, technology, community and convening spaces designed for use by established companies such as Ford, as well as universities, growing startups, youth initiatives and students. CNBC reports that Michigan Central totals 1.2 million square feet.
The campus is situated blocks from the Detroit River and in close proximity to I-75 and I-96. Adjacent to Michigan Central is the newly unified Roosevelt Park, which the City of Detroit debuted last summer.
Ford’s involvement
Approximately 1,000 Ford employees will work across the Michigan Central district by the end of the year, with a goal of 2,500 employees by 2028, according to the company. The site is roughly 10 miles from Ford’s world headquarters in Dearborn.
“Michigan Central means a great deal to us all. In many ways, this building tells the story of our city,” says Bill Ford, executive chair of Ford. “This station was our Ellis Island — a place where dreamers in search of new jobs and new opportunities first set foot in Detroit. But once the last train pulled out, it became a place where hope left.
“In 2018, I decided it was time to change that by reimagining this station as a place of possibility again. Over the past six years, Ford and teams of forward thinkers, designers, community leaders and more than 3,000 skilled tradespeople have worked to bring this landmark back to life.”
Ford is among the building’s first tenants and plans to move employees from its Ford Model e and Ford Integrated Services teams into newly renovated office space across three floors in The Station starting later this year. Ford will also have collaboration space in The Station for other Southeast Michigan-based employees to use.
History and grand reopening concert
Originally designed by architects Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stem, the same team behind New York City’s famed Grand Central Terminal, Michigan Central Station first opened in 1913. It saw 4,000 daily passengers at its peak, but following decades of declining rail travel, was shuttered in 1988 and sat vacant for three decades.
Michigan Central is breathing new life into the Beaux-Arts-style building, including its classical façade, Grand Hall with 54-foot ceilings, arcade, ticket lobby and restaurant. The project team spent more than 1.7 million hours returning the property to its original architectural grandeur, while also retrofitting it with modern technology and infrastructure, according to Ford.
A sold-out concert on Thursday, June 6, will kick off the opening of Michigan Central with headliners Jack White and Diana Ross. The event, which famous Detroit-based rapper Eminem and his longtime manager Paul Rosenberg are producing, will stream live on Peacock and be followed by a special one-hour broadcast on NBC. Other performers will include Big Sean, Melissa Etheridge, Jelly Roll and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, as well as surprise guests.
Michigan Central will be open to the public for an open house from June 7-16.
Ford employs roughly 176,000 workers worldwide. The company’s stock price closed on Monday, June 3 at $12.19 per share, down from $12.59 one year ago, a 3.2 percent decline.
— Kristin Harlow and John Nelson