INTERVIEWS INSIDE FORD
14 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 55
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Ford has always
democratised
technology.
This will be more
of the same
a
Within walking distance of Ford’s Project Edison
factory in inner Detroit’s Corktown district stands
the enormous, imposing Michigan Central Station,
a 105-year-old building destined to become the
centrepiece of a Ford-backed, mobility-focused
campus to be built over the next four years.
Chairman Bill Ford says restoration, which
began earlier this year, will entail a three-phase,
£300 million makeover. A drying-out phase has
already begun, which will progress in phase two to
replacement of electrical and mechanical systems
plus exterior refurbishment, ending with a third
phase of interior restoration.
Bill Ford says the company will eventually spend
£610m transforming the station and surrounding
buildings to contain apartments and “retail
spaces” but also plans to base its own electric
and autonomous creative teams there, hoping to
attract like-minded partners to the businesses.
When complete, the building will house 2500 Ford
employees and is expected to provide another
2500 jobs for Ford’s partners and suppliers.
FORD RESTORES MICHIGAN STATION
Michigan Station will be reborn as a mobility campus