Photo: Ford
Over the past few years, the American auto industry has been engaged in an all-out effort to invest in new car models and the plants to produce them. Of the three local giants, only Ford seems to be focused on creating more or revamping its research and development facilities.
Last year, the Blue Oval announced a significant investment in real estate. It purchased one of Detroit’s most iconic ruins, the Michigan Central Station, intending to convert it into “a vibrant new campus that will serve as an innovation hub for Ford’s vision for the future of transportation.”
With work on that facility still ongoing, Ford said this week it will soon start a major overhaul of its Research & Engineering Center in Dearborn and will complete the initial construction phase sometime in 2020.
The main focus of the build will be the creation of a new central campus building on the site of the current Product Development Center. Once ready, it will house 6,000 designers and members of vehicle development teams.
But that’s not all. Ford plans to erect a walkable campus of interconnected buildings that will eventually serve more than 20,000 employees.
“From the Rouge to Highland Park in Detroit to Dagenham in the U.K., Ford has leveraged innovative workspaces and facilities to inspire our teams to invent the future,” said in a statement Ford CEO Jim Hackett.
“Our vision for our Dearborn Research & Engineering campus – and our new Corktown campus and Ann Arbor robotics lab – will enable Ford to lead the next era of transportation and personal mobility, and help us continue our founding mission of driving human progress through the freedom of movement.”
Ford did not say how much the new campus will cost, but did say it should be fully operational by the middle of the next decade.
With work on that facility still ongoing, Ford said this week it will soon start a major overhaul of its Research & Engineering Center in Dearborn and will complete the initial construction phase sometime in 2020.
The main focus of the build will be the creation of a new central campus building on the site of the current Product Development Center. Once ready, it will house 6,000 designers and members of vehicle development teams.
But that’s not all. Ford plans to erect a walkable campus of interconnected buildings that will eventually serve more than 20,000 employees.
“From the Rouge to Highland Park in Detroit to Dagenham in the U.K., Ford has leveraged innovative workspaces and facilities to inspire our teams to invent the future,” said in a statement Ford CEO Jim Hackett.
“Our vision for our Dearborn Research & Engineering campus – and our new Corktown campus and Ann Arbor robotics lab – will enable Ford to lead the next era of transportation and personal mobility, and help us continue our founding mission of driving human progress through the freedom of movement.”
Ford did not say how much the new campus will cost, but did say it should be fully operational by the middle of the next decade.
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