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Ford in Talks to Buy Idle Train Station in Detroit

Ford Motor Co. is in talks to acquire Detroit’s long-vacant Michigan Central Depot, a former railroad station located less than two miles west of the city center, according to multiple media reports.
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Ford Motor Co. is in talks to acquire Detroit’s long-vacant Michigan Central Depot, a former railroad station located less than two miles west of the city center, according to multiple media reports.

The 18-story, 504,600 sq-ft building occupies nearly five acres of land on the edge of Detroit’s thriving Corktown district. The decaying building, the subject of several failed refurbishing schemes, has frequently been depicted as a stark symbol of the city’s decline.
 

Reports say Ford, which also is interested in acquiring land around the 104-year-old building, envisions the area as a campus for its expanding and urban-focused mobility services, data analytics and self-driving-vehicle operations.

In December, Ford announced that in May it will relocate its electrification and autonomous vehicle teams to a refurbished building a few blocks from the depot.

Chairman Bill Ford Jr. has repeatedly voiced his interest in expanding Ford’s presence in the Corktown area, so named for its history as a former Irish enclave. Company founder Henry Ford’s father was born in County Cork, Ireland.

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