Ford reportedly interested in Detroit’s infamous abandoned train depot

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Ford Motor Co. is reportedly in discussions to purchase one of the largest, most well-known eyesores in Detroit as part of a bid to move more staff into the city from its headquarters in neighboring Dearborn and attract young talent to the company.Continue reading Ford reportedly interested in Detroit’s infamous abandoned train depot
Ford reportedly interested in Detroit’s infamous abandoned train depot originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 19 Mar 2018 17:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.


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[simplyconnected]

in·fa·mous
ˈinfəməs/Submit
adjective
well known for some bad quality or deed.
"an infamous war criminal"
synonyms: notorious, disreputable

This bugs me when professional writers use wrong descriptive words. The building certainly has a rich history and fame but it is not infamous by any stretch.

There is nothing about this huge beautiful building that is or ever was bad. It was absolutely beautiful but it never attracted more than 70% occupancy that the developers expected. When the bottom dropped out the building became a ghost town, complete with vandals.

The Grand Trunk (Amtrak) rails are behind the building and hard to see from the front. Ford might make this work because there are no residential houses around the building. It is situated between 'Corktown' and 'Mexicantown', not far from the international Ambassador Bridge to Canada. Recently, the Detroit Police Dept., had their sights on the building for their HQ.

It has renewed interest as someone has replaced all the windows. With a little more dress-up it could be grand again.

Ford and the City of Detroit have a 'shaky' relationship at best. Ford owned and built two riverfront properties, the Renaissance Center and the Ford Auditorium. Ford employees in the Ren Cen found 'security' lacking, so Ford sold it to GM for their HQ. Ford donated the Auditorium to the City of Detroit, who sold it to a bank for a tidy profit. The Ford family was upset over that one.

For these reasons, I would not put money on this train station deal. Oh by the way, Detroit has a city income tax. Dearborn does not. So, if the deal goes through it will be because of sweet incentives from the City of Detroit, not because employees want to work there. - Dave