DETROIT | Ford Michigan Central Station - Corktown Developements
 

Figured we should have a thread for the Ford/MCS news Coming up next week and beyond. It’s going going to change the face of Corktown and the city for years to come.

We find out about the plans next Tuesday.

it's been a LONG time coming, but this is so freaking cool!

i can't believe that this magnificent structure really is going to be reborn into a new life, and serve as a catalyst to revive the area surrounding it.

it's just awesome. it might just be the greatest preservation comeback story ever told.

Yeah, this is the definition of 'turning point.' It doesn't seem that long ago that the suggestion of this level of investment in MCS would have been met with a laugh. Now it's real. I will reiterate what many others also believe and hope and that is a desire that in some way the base remains a transportation station and in the future could grow in that function. Many other historic train stations have been relegated to children's museums and banquet halls - not that that is an inherently improper use considering the reality on the ground in some places - but hopefully MCS will at least in some capacity in the future function at least partially in the way it was designed to while having an energetic and dynamic use of space in the offices above.

Detroit train station is city's biggest comeback moment yet
 

The Detroit Free Press, 6/15/2018
By John Gallagher
https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...act/697756002/

Trying to sum up the significance of Ford’s plans for the Michigan Central Station, a quote by Winston Churchill seems apt.

“Now, this is not the end,” Churchill said of an early Allied victory in World War II. “It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

I am hoping for something along the lines of the Ford Rotunda that burned down in Dearborn. This would be great if Ford can make an attraction like the old rotunda was.

Tonight's quote on MCS from Ford Motor Co.'s twitter account:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dfx0x5MUYAEhN4K.jpg

Honestly, Ford is doing a brilliant, next-level job marketing this renovation.

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SRYB...IMG_0321.0.jpg
Michelle & Chris Gerard

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chor...1/IMG_9459.jpg
Michelle & Chris Gerard

MCS is a terminal station except for trains going to Canada. The Wolverine right now would not use it, as it is not conducive to the current service that extends through the New Center station to Pontiac.

Possibly the Pontiac section could be split out into a local commuter operation like the ever-planned SEMCOG train to Ann Arbor, and all three trains terminated at MCS, but then there's no convenient way to get from MCS to downtown anymore. Detroit would have to build a costly streetcar or something down Michigan Ave. New Center already has the QLine to take riders downtown.

An extension of the streetcar onto Michigan Avenue is likely to happen though.

I think in the distant future when Canada gets it's high-speed rail corridor built up a connection to MCS would be great.

I have to agree that Bill Ford has really gone ahead and seized and opportunity that became apparent from Detroit's Amazon bid and ran with it. I've been watching the Crain's interview with Bill Ford he envisions "a mobility corridor along Michigan Ave from Corktown to Dearborn and then on to Metro Airport, Willow Run, Ypsilanti & Ann Arbor.

There is a full video interview with Bill Ford available for Crain's subscribers some highlights are:

He recognizes and admits that we are "in a war for talent" and further more that Ford has not invested in it's R&D facilities "when they had opportunities to in the past and then when a down turn came along it was one of the easiest things to cut, this time though we said we are going to invest this money in the future and not touch it". He goes on to detail how the money for this project was already budgeted for in campus improvement plans and how this is one part of a broader plan first detailed in 2016 for Ford to update it's "antiquated facilities".

I like the idea of a high-tech M-12 corridor it's not an entirely new idea but its needed something to kick start it. Ford's redevelopment of MCD and with the creation and integration of a Corktown campus into a broader regional mobility, transportation - logistics & aerospace district along the Michigan Ave axis from Ann Arbor to Detroit is an ambitious goal that would help the region compete better in the digital age.


There were a lot of reasons for eye rolling when Mathew Moroun talked about playing the role Roger Penske did as someone ready and willing to help bring parties to the table for a Michigan Ave street car & possible use of MCD as an inter-modal transit center. But Bill Ford does envision the main concourse area as something like San Francisco's Ferry Terminal and hasn't ruled trains out but says that's not Ford's place.


http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...ortation-model


Edit; here's an article I picked out of the AP feed.

This is an old rendering (2016) of part the new Dearborn Campus which is still to be built minus the AV/EV groups which will go into MCD & Corktown. As Ford seems to be aiming at a broader scope it seems appropriate to include.

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/H....271e0c7e061067

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ford-...040100504.html

fantastic news!

Completely agree! Many of us never would have dreamed something like this would happen. I'm so thankful that Ford is investing in Michigan Central Station and look forward to what the details will be during tomorrow's press conference. :cheers::cheers::cheers:

I’m stoked about the possibilities here. Can’t wait to see what happens!

While not the most notable of stories amidst all of the MCS news, this was certainly a heartwarming read:

https://eu.freep.com/story/money/car...ock/710459002/

just the best news ever. i was expecting it though given detriots resurgence.

MCS in that video, even if just an animation, has me super excited. It's amazing to me that they have so much thought put into this already, even through the presentation. It's clear this has been on their radar for awhile and the are PR'ing the crap out of it, as well they should. Ford just won over a generation.

Well said.

It's weird, because Ford has always been the most conservative and least risky of the Big Three. But Bill Ford, Jr. ended up being a really eccentric and unconventional person. His great-grandfather is rolling over in his grave knowing that Bill is going in big on Detroit...and that's a good change. Henry hated urbanism and thus he disliked the hustle-and-bustle of Detroit (it's why the company never left Dearborn), even as his business help drive the city to grow further and further out from tis center. Oh, the irony.

Anyway, 5,000 employees over the next few years is going to be something significant for Corktown, to put it lightly. There weren't even 1,500 in this whole area at the 2010 Census. I'm really interested to see how Ford handles all of this new traffic. Will they run some commuter rail up from behind the station to Dearborn? Will they take their ridersharing service to the next level? Will there be some express service (light rail or bus) on Michigan Avenue? I do hope they aren't planning for everyone to come to work in their individual cars, because even as wide as Michigan is, that'd would be a nightmare.

I guess I don't see the issue there. It's not like the whole of Ford's workforce is coming from Dearborn. They're coming form all over the region. And I think Ford is expecting the new folks to be young people who actually might want to live in Detroit.

This Crain's article is kind of another recap of the potential possibility of, and hurdles related to, reviving MCS as a transportation hub and rethinking Michigan Avenue to accommodate autonomous vehicles .

What's with all the deleted posts??? !!! Can the mods just let an organic conversation happen forgodsakes!!! ???

What was deleted?

This will be stunning.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/bu...ion/994867002/

Ford to spend 740 million in Corktown

A new light projection show against the backdrop of the building was recently displayed, as a part of the NAIAS

• Video Link

• Video Link


Ford did an update and tour on progress at MCS today


https://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...ot/3771584002/

The development director speaks on progress and the overall plan of MCS including showing where several new buildings will be built, she also talks about the Michigan Avenue mobility corridor and connection with A2.

• Video Link

Drive-by update from a few days ago, courtesy of Youtube Channel "Frankai Videos" -

• Video Link

Separately, and if the below link works for you, Ford Land just posted a video on LinkedIn of interview highlights with the the landscape architect, Mikyoung Kim, in which the vision for the site's mobility platform and open spaces is discussed -

And here's a recent aerial view from a week or two ago - MCS is looking kind of two-faced right now -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t3q89qxbqf..._MCS.jpg?raw=1
Source: Instagram | @fredjproductions

Very exciting, this is such a massive undertaking it cannot be overstated. The most impressive and beautiful structure in the US.

Can't wait to see what the new buildings designed by Snøhetta will look like.

Good stuff

Just a shot of some of the meticulous tile restoration work that is ongoing inside MCC - it's going to look amazing when finished!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e9cj14eg6e...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9jguv11v55...%202.jpg?raw=1
Source: LinkedIn | Ford Land

There was 250 cement trucks on site yesterday. Also a massive crane has arrived and I hear it's the largest in the country. There are 500 workers on site now according to sources.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzvISArX...jpg&name=large
https://twitter.com/jeffdebruyn/stat...473729/photo/1

To build on that, here's a link to a short Vimeo video about the pour, posted by The Christman Company. One cement truck arriving every 3 minutes, over 2,000 CY of concrete, 2 pump trucks running simultaneously - pretty crazy coordination effort!

https://vimeo.com/546067705

I'm still surprised no one has brought up this important point mentioned in Amtrak's recent Corridor Vision: https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/p...ion-052721.pdf

• Extend 1 Wolverine round trip to Toronto using a newly
redeveloped Michigan Central Terminal

It has come up a little - but in discussions on the separate transportation thread:

Detroit & Michigan: Go-Town Transportation Lowdown

I haven't seen that full report before though. The momentum for a Detroit to Toronto high speed line has never been higher I think, and it would be great if Michigan Central could serve it.

That would be wonderful! According to this article, "The last direct train from Detroit to Toronto was in 1967, and that was before Amtrak existed as a corporation, according to CBC." And here's the CBC website being cited: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/winds...onto-1.5084297

But does the Ford Michigan Central Station still have the original tracks and platforms?

Here's a short video about the ongoing structural restoration & repairs at the station -

https://vimeo.com/578668248/c78d57a804

Cool video. Couldn’t tell if the floor slabs were structural clay tile between I-beams. They’re solid normally but if even slightly deteriorated, pieces will go flying everywhere the moment you start renovating a space above or drop something very heavy

Some updated renderings were released recently for the walkable mobility innovation district. The Vernor viaduct will be closed starting this week for deconstruction -

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2acgs37k97...%201.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qh83enydkb...%202.jpg?raw=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yo8ws9eo8p...%203.jpg?raw=1
Source: LinkedIn | Ford Land

Frankai's September 2021 update (wherein you can see the closure of Vernor)

• Video Link

Incredible amount of work has gone into accurate historical detail from sourcing limestone from the original quarry which closed in the 80’s to 400+ hours of work by one of the few professional carvers left in the industry. Click the photo link to read article.

https://detroitisit.com/wp-content/u...4coqs2zda8.png
Detroitist

https://detroitisit.com/wp-content/u...-1-768x405.jpg
Detroitist

Work continues at the Michigan Central Station

https://www.detroitnews.com/picture-...on/9174070002/

Lots of new images, IDK how to resize them for this site so click the link.

Google to work with Ford on Detroit research hub

https://www.koamnewsnow.com/i/google...-research-hub/


https://nitter.net/pic/media%2FFKw_d...%3Fname%3Dorig

https://nitter.net/pic/media%2FFKw_d...%3Fname%3Dorig
https://nitter.net/DeadlineDetroit/s...576416546817#m

Wow, those Guastavino tiles look incredible. Thanks for posting! I am very excited to see this building when all is completed.

Are they preserving the ability to use this as an actual train station or is Ford making that impossible?

The primary use of this building should always be as a train station.