Ford Puts $740M Price Tag on Michigan Central Station Project

The automaker plans to renovate the city’s long vacant train depot for research and development of self-driving vehicles.

This Monday, June 11, 2018, photo shows the historic Michigan Central Station in Detroit.
This Monday, June 11, 2018, photo shows the historic Michigan Central Station in Detroit.
AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File

Ford Motor Co. plans to spend roughly $740 million renovating Detroit's long vacant train depot and redeveloping other area properties for research and development of self-driving vehicles .

The Dearborn-based company in June used the Michigan Central depot as a backdrop while publicly laying out plans for the 105-year-old train station and surrounding Corktown neighborhood, but the anticipated cost wasn't detailed.

The automaker's Ford Land development arm announced Tuesday it expects to seek $250 million in tax incentives to help offset the cost.

Ford's plans call for the depot to be redeveloped over the next several years. The last passenger train left the station in 1988. A businessman purchased the building in the mid-1990s, but it remained empty and became blighted, exemplifying Detroit's long decline from manufacturing powerhouse to bankruptcy.

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