Michigan Central Station prepares to reopen after 30 years: What we know

Amelia Benavides-Colón, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·4 min read
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Michigan Central Station is opening its doors in just a few months after more than 30 years of vacancy.

The building announced its reopening this week, with a giant projection of “06-06-2024” appearing across its face Tuesday evening.

The much-anticipated date for the train station to reopen is June 6, more than 30 years after it closed. The 15-story Corktown fixture opened in 1913 and was originally built for office space, but fell into ruin after closing in 1988, becoming a symbol for the Detroit's decline.
The much-anticipated date for the train station to reopen is June 6, more than 30 years after it closed. The 15-story Corktown fixture opened in 1913 and was originally built for office space, but fell into ruin after closing in 1988, becoming a symbol for the Detroit's decline.

Constructed in 1913, trains ran in and out of Michigan Central Station for nearly 75 years before its doors officially closed in 1988.

The 15-story building became a famous symbol of architectural ruin porn, symbolizing Detroit’s topple from an industry giant to a city on a pathway to bankruptcy.

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Ownership, past and present:

The Moroun family, who own the Ambassador Bridge along with thousands of properties across Detroit, purchased Michigan Central out of tax-foreclose in 1995.

Renovation ideas for the building ranged from a casino to a world trade center, but instead, the building fell further into disrepair, with graffiti artists moving in and shattering the 1,000-window facade.

Chamberlain Glass & Metal, of St. Clair, will do the work replacing more than 1,000 broken windows at the old Michigan Central Station in Detroit.
Chamberlain Glass & Metal, of St. Clair, will do the work replacing more than 1,000 broken windows at the old Michigan Central Station in Detroit.

Ford Motor Co. paid $90 million for the building in 2018 and committed $740 million to rehabilitating the station and surrounding area.

Building renovations

Despite most of the building’s specific renovations being kept secret, the doors to the station have opened a few times during the construction process allowing for a sneak peek into Ford’s renovation process.

More than 20,000 people were able to witness Ford’s original renderings inside the station’s concourse during a sold-out tour in 2018.

The automotive company, which received more than $200 million in city tax breaks to finish the project, investigated the building’s original structure to preserve what was possible and ensure renovations were historically accurate.

Initial plans for residential housing units on the top floors of the station have been scrapped in favor of a hotel − although Ford will first have to rezone the property, which currently is not permitted for a hotel.

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During a 2022 media tour, the Free Press learned of plans for a first-floor event space and 10 floors of office space along with the top three floors dedicated to a future 100 hotel rooms.

"What's going to be really cool is that this beautiful space will be completely restored and be open to the public," Executive Chairman Bill Ford told Freep in 2018. "We'll have restaurants and coffee shops and bars and retail all going on down here. … We don't want to just be this corporate entity coming downtown. We want to be part of the fabric of Corktown."

A carriage house behind the train station will serve as the home for the station’s legendary stolen clock, returned anonymously in 2018. And the tracks have been preserved in case the passenger rail makes a comeback, a possibility Amtrak began floating last November.

Surrounding property improvements

The city completed a $6 million renovation of Roosevelt Park, the 13-acre greenspace along Michigan Avenue in the front of the station, in spring 2023. The new design prioritizes peditarian walkability and permanently closed the roads leading up to the station.

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Along with Michigan Central, Ford also purchased three buildings, the Book Depository, the Factory, and a former brass factory, and constructed a parking garage, the Bagely Mobility Hub, to create its technology district.

Adjacent to Michigan Central, Ford completed renovations of the three-story Book Depository building in April 2023, remodeling the former 1930s U.S. Post Office and Detroit Public Schools warehouse into Newlab − a modern workspace focused on technology innovation.

Michigan Central launches with Newlab opening in reimagined Book Depository, on left, in Detroit on Tuesday, April 24, 2023.
Michigan Central launches with Newlab opening in reimagined Book Depository, on left, in Detroit on Tuesday, April 24, 2023.

Designed by famous architect Albert Kahn, the structure’s original first-floor atrium has been enlarged central atrium to extend through all three aboveground floors.

Interior photos of Newlab at Michigan Central, in the former Book Depository, which will officially open onTuesday, April 25. The building is 270,000 square feet, and includes 2,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 200-seat event space and state-of the-art robotics and prototyping facility.
Interior photos of Newlab at Michigan Central, in the former Book Depository, which will officially open onTuesday, April 25. The building is 270,000 square feet, and includes 2,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 200-seat event space and state-of the-art robotics and prototyping facility.

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The Factory at 1907 Michigan Ave., was built in 1907 and was once home to Chicago Hosiery and Detroit-Alaska Knitting Mills factories. After renovations in 2018, Ford moved more than 200 employees into the building dedicated to driverless technology initiatives.

An electric van doing demonstration runs and being charged by buried rubber panels like this one as it drives up and down 14th Street in Detroit in front of the Newlab at Michigan Central Building on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. A press conference was held at the building with members of the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan Central building, Electreon and the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification to announce and talk about this stretch of road that is the first inductive-charging roadway anywhere in the country.

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Ford demolished the former brass factory, at 2051 Rosa Parks, in 2019 after it was left abandoned due to environmental concerns. Plans have not been announced for the vacant land.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan Central Station train depot prepares to reopen: What we know