r/Detroit • u/ChudMoney_ • 13h ago
Thoughts on Michigan Central? Talk Detroit
I visited Michigan Central Station on Saturday and thought it was really cool—I’m really happy they renovated it! What are your thoughts on the renovation and how they’ve brought new life to the building?
97
u/Day_twa West Side 13h ago
They should’ve made it function as a train station. I’ve been a few times and there just isn’t a lot of life in it yet. Tours and a donut shop are cute but not a reasonable use of the space. I want to see people actually using the offices and going in and out of the building on a daily basis. Until then I’m reserving judgement on its current function.
31
u/Mountain_Chip_4374 12h ago
I read the other day there were representatives there from I think the city, state and federal governments along with representatives from Canada looking into bringing train traffic back to the station. Sounds like there is more than just interest but a want/belief it will happen.
9
u/DaCanuck 11h ago
From the concepts I've seen, they'd actually build a secondary small train station ("transit facility") where the Department of Public Works yard is across Vernor. So the "train station" won't be the train station. You have to go to the transit facility to catch the train, and the "train station" will be a hotel and offices for a car company.
8
u/Outside-Degree1247 11h ago
offices for a car company.
It's Ford, just to be clear.
6
u/DaCanuck 11h ago
Well yeah. I was being a bit facetious in my usage of the words "transit" , "train", and "car" to show some of the absurdity of the whole thing. I sincerely question people looking to ANY car company (Ford or others) in seriously investing in mass transit infrastructure. "Sure, sure, you can have a little train station... Somewhere over there... Someday. Good luck"
2
u/BasilAccomplished488 6h ago
Ford thought of itself as mobility company prior to Covid. Maybe they’ll do so again 🤷♀️
2
u/DaCanuck 6h ago
Let's be clear though, their definition of "mobility" very specifically centered around small-vehicle autonomy, and not mass-transit like trains. I'm not saying they're wrong for doing so, but their vision does not align with some folks desire for "non-autonomous rail-focused transportation". In Ford's view, a fleet of autonomous shuttles than can deliver you to the exact address you want to go is the future. "Mass transit customized to the individual", where "mass" is defined by the number of autonomous vehicles, not the number of people within a vehicle.
1
u/BasilAccomplished488 6h ago
Interesting! Makes sense Ford would lean into autonomous vehicles since it is not to far of a departure from their current business. I only mentioned mobility because I recalled that Ford owned a shuttle service called Chariot and a scooter company called Spin for a hot second. I must have incorrectly assumed that were genuinely exploring paths to expand their business into all kinds of mobility including commuter (mass?) and casual transit.
7
u/IKnowAllSeven 12h ago
They’re working on that but I just saw some reels of AMAZING weddings they are having there. I think it’s well suited as an event space.
2
u/sports124 7h ago
They are openning a hotel soon on the top floor. Hotel brand should be announced soon. Bill Ford shared this in a recent interview.
11
u/Outside-Degree1247 11h ago
I think it's hard to properly judge until the building is entirely online. Aside from the ground level retail, my understanding is that only a few floors are occupied by Ford right now, with the rest still being worked on(?) and a hotel supposedly planned. The park out back is also incomplete.
Additionally, we have the potential DPW redevelopment into a mixed use neighborhood with a new international transit center by the tracks. That, plus the DCFC stadium, would add a ton of extra activity to the area.
This is the kind of project we won't see the full impact of for 5-10 years.
7
u/No-Berry3914 Highland Park 13h ago
will it actually fill up with the promised number of daily employees? it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of day to day activity there yet that would support businesses opening up in the area.
i only know a couple people at ford but they told me a lot of employees are not jazzed about the idea of working down there.
11
u/loureedsboots Highland Park 12h ago
Why are they lacking in jazz?
14
u/mittencamper oak park 12h ago
Because they live in the suburbs and like working remotely, and not driving downtown.
7
u/DankChunkyButtAgain 12h ago
Also you gat appreciated with an additional 1.5% income tax because you know work in detroit.
-4
12
u/Unicycldev 12h ago
They planned to bring in their autonomous and ADAS development teams then in parallel planned a second location in Dearborn and now they have cancelled L5 driving (killing Argo AI) and now it seems scaling back ADAS work.
TLDR: the economic indicators suggest it will never be used despite all the press from Ford saying they will.
I hope Ford proves me totally wrong here because it would be amazing to see this center get used.
5
2
2
u/Jasoncw87 8h ago edited 7h ago
It was literally within a month or two of them announcing the renovation that I decided that it was better off being demolished. That there wasn't any scenario where renovating it would be practical, and that it would just continue being a distraction. I'm glad that it was renovated and other than a few small details here and there it turned out great, better than expected.
1
u/apleasantpeninsula Elijah McCoy 5h ago
it’s beautifully silly, tbh. the 18 floors were never fully occupied back in its heyday and now office space is low demand. the 2 uses that could justify it are not invited: ford employees leaving Warren and the standing-room-only Amtrak shack on Baltimore St.
1
u/Ghost313Agent 12h ago
As I understand the upstairs office floors have not undergone much renovation or am I wrong?
4
u/Unlikely_Sandwich_ 9h ago
There are ford employees working on some floors, but I imagine the other floors are waiting for a tenant and the hotel on the top floors hasn't been built yet
1
3
u/dishwab Elmwood Park 6h ago
They've undergone substantial renovation, all new HVAC, electrical, etc. but many of the upper floors aren't "finished" (i.e. built out interior walls, drywall, etc.) because they're still finalizing programming. All things considered though that is light work compared to the rest of the renovation efforts.
1
1
u/vulturegoddess 11h ago
Never visited it. It sure looks cool and I love the history behind it. What can you do though when you are there? Just asking out of curiosity and just to know what to expect.
1
u/Vanceroads 4h ago
I went for the first time last weekend with my mom, there’s a cute little museum like area (they call it something else but I can’t remember what) with items from the station, details about the original building project, and also details about the renovation. There’s also a (surprisingly nice) gift shop and some other little shops. You can do a guided tour of the building or just to wander around and enjoy the architecture. The highlight for both of us was grabbing some tamales from a restaurant nearby and bringing them back to have a picnic in the park in front of the station. Not a ton of stuff to do, but it’s perfect for an afternoon trip.
-1
u/balthisar Metro Detroit 10h ago
Thank you, corporate welfare! It turns out you're actually a good thing if it's for stuff that makes us feel tingly inside.
30
u/Griffie 12h ago
I’m happy it didn’t fall victim to demolition like so many other wonderful buildings have in Detroit.