Possible New Life for Michigan Central Station? Ford Motor Co. a Buyer? YES!

[royce]

That would have likely required a lot more engineering before being built. You also have the issue that the Gordie Howe isn't really near anything on either side that people would want to be visiting, so is this rail going all to way to each downtown? Quite costly just to get over the border without a car especially considering there is a bus that goes between both cities through the tunnel already.

I say bring back the gondola! I would settle for water taxis though.

Maybe some kind of deal could be worked out one day where a passenger/tourist line could use the Canadian rail line tracks to go back and forth from Detroit to Windsor. It would be cheaper to operate than anything else.

[Lapooty]

Found these beauties on r/Detroit, thought I would share them here

[Satiricalivory]

Can you link the reddit post?

[Jimaz]

Can you link the reddit post?

Did anyone save the MCS photos posted this morning?

[Lapooty]

Did anyone save the MCS photos posted this morning?

Good thing i saved them cause yea i couldn't find the post i got em from, thanks for finding this one tho

[mikeg19]

Never thought I'd see the day. Just always anticipated it would be a pile of demolition rubble at some point. I can't wait to walk through this place.

[Lowell]

Those rebuilt floors really make the interior settings pop with their gloss and reflection!

What a great day for Detroit.

[Lowell]

Compare the above with a March 2019 early renovation shot of the end of the ticket booths.
Attachment 43174

[Lowell]

A great day in Detroit is fast arriving emphasized by yesterday's press release on the grand opening of the Michigan Central. Who'da thunk it, eh?



DETROIT, May 20, 2024 — On Tuesday, May 21 at 12 p.m. ET, Michigan Central will open ticket registration for the Michigan Central OPEN, a community celebration June 6 – 16 to commemorate the landmark reopening of Michigan Central Station following an extensive restoration by Ford Motor Company. Details on ticket reservations can be found at http://michigancentral.com.


Hosted by Ford and Michigan Central, Michigan Central OPEN welcomes the public to share in this major milestone with an opening night concert outside the station featuring a lineup of legendary Detroit performers produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, an Emmy-winning production company, that has played an integral role in producing many of television’s most memorable moments in music entertainment, including multiple Super Bowl Halftime Shows. Jesse Collins Entertainment’s Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay will executive produce the show. Emmy award-winning production companies Diversified Production Services and Killian + Company are also producing the special event. The outdoor concert will also be available via livestream.


“There’s no place like Detroit, and we couldn’t be more excited to showcase the city through its own incredible artists,” said Executive Producer Jesse Collins, founder and CEO Jesse Collins Entertainment. “We’re going to create an unforgettable welcome party for Michigan Central with this new chapter in Detroit history that celebrates the visions of these unique performers who are bound together by a shared love of their city.”


The following 10 days will offer the public a first look inside the revitalized Station’s ground floor before the building’s first commercial occupants begin moving in this fall. Visitors can sign up for a tour of the first floor of The Station, learn about the rich history of the iconic building, the city, and its people, and get a sneak peek into Michigan Central’s bright future.

[Zacha341]

Beautiful! Nice details and photos. My parents and some of their siblings came to Michigan on the trains by way of this station.

[One Shot]

The fact this building was restored is an absolute miracle. I can't wait to see it. Does anyone know if the building will be open to the public AFTER the open house?

[Zacha341]

^ Yeah, that's my preferred option. We don't do crowds so well anymore.

Though I'm certain opening day there would be very nice!

[401don]

The fact this building was restored is an absolute miracle. I can't wait to see it. Does anyone know if the building will be open to the public AFTER the open house?

Long term the plan is to have the ground floor open to the public. However this summer it will be select dates only. Their website, michigancentral.com, says to check back soon for those dates.

[Richard]

Those rebuilt floors really make the interior settings pop with their gloss and reflection!

What a great day for Detroit.

Its like an artist,they can vision what their work will look like before they apply that first stroke.

Its the same thing with old buildings,without that vision,it is easy to say demolish them,Detroit has a increasing habit of bringing that vision to life with amazing results all across the city,from a single house being restored to the grandest of the grand.

That’s the vision that built the city.

Most buildings you walk into you would not think twice about,something like that you could probably walk into 50 times and still notice things that you did not before.

[Gsgeorge]

I guess it's too late now, but Ford and the opening day event planners were hoping to keep the reveal of the interior a surprise for Detroit and its residents. They probably asked the Reddit poster to take them down.

[Gistok]

The 6 story CPA Building across from Roosevelt Park facing the MCS has a name nothing to do with CPA's. It is the Conductors' Protective Assurance Building, dealing with railroad employees, and built 1922-24.

The current owners bought it in 2014, with plans to raze it, but Detroit City Council said NO! Then after the decision was made to restore MCS, the owners realized they had a more valuable asset. Just what will they do with it is the big question?

https://detroiturbex.com/content/dow...cpa/index.html

[Richard]

It’s for lease,one can lease it and to whatever they want.

Kinda strange,like a thumb sticking up in an open field.

As time goes on all of those buildings that seem to have no purpose today will find one,demolishing it does not change the status of an empty lot verses an empty building,but if one also acquired the surrounding empty parcels,but that one and at $600k per unit of affordable housing you could carry up the street with multi story street front housing with that building as the cornerstone,corner store,a few restaurants etc.

The building on itself may be a challenge but in the bigger picture it could be interesting.

[Gistok]

The view from the CPA Building across Michigan Avenue towards Roosevelt Park.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/C....c5yp?entry=ttu

[401don]

Drove by on the weekend and while the restoration is gorgeous it does feel like it needs some identifying signage. This is tricky since it should be tasteful and obviously we don't want it lit up with led's and advertising. Once tenants move in it will look busier and not desolate. Any ideas? Should anything be on the building itself, out front or nothing at all?

[southen]

Drove by on the weekend and while the restoration is gorgeous it does feel like it needs some identifying signage. This is tricky since it should be tasteful and obviously we don't want it lit up with led's and advertising. Once tenants move in it will look busier and not desolate. Any ideas? Should anything be on the building itself, out front or nothing at all?

I think it is just going to take time. They are still working on the hotel portion and only a small portion of the landscaping is complete. Right now it seems everyone is in scramble mode to wrap things up or at least get things to a state where it looks nice for opening. I believe that is why they stopped work on the back of the station last year. Even though things will be open to the public there is still a long ways to go to wrap up the project.

[stasu1213]

Drove by on the weekend and while the restoration is gorgeous it does feel like it needs some identifying signage. This is tricky since it should be tasteful and obviously we don't want it lit up with led's and advertising. Once tenants move in it will look busier and not desolate. Any ideas? Should anything be on the building itself, out front or nothing at all?

The building itself is majestic and speaks volumes. It doesn't need to be molested by signage.

[Richard]

The view from the CPA Building across Michigan Avenue towards Roosevelt Park.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/C....c5yp?entry=ttu

I like that building,it backs up to the freeway but you could carry it up the street with matching facade all the way up to that little white block building with parking in the back to the freeway .

People could walk to work.

You know once The train station gets rolling that’s going to be prime if not already with speculation.

Somebody randomly stuck a clock on there,but there is an exhaust sticking out the back wall so there must have been a commercial kitchen in there or a restaurant on the end facing the freeway.

The inside pictures really do not look that bad structure wise the rest is just typical of a building that has been vacant 100 years.

Kudos to the city council for saying NO on the demolition,that does not even come close to making a case for demolition.

That was their plan apparently,demo it and rebuild the entire block but why disrespect the character of the neighborhood in the process,New Yorkers,no surprise.

[gratiotfaced]

I think it is just going to take time. They are still working on the hotel portion and only a small portion of the landscaping is complete. Right now it seems everyone is in scramble mode to wrap things up or at least get things to a state where it looks nice for opening. I believe that is why they stopped work on the back of the station last year. Even though things will be open to the public there is still a long ways to go to wrap up the project.

I've been a little confused by the delays to the platform area behind the station. Isn't it planned to be mostly parks and plaza space? It seems weird that they're struggling to complete the space in a timely manner. The SW Greenway is also supposed to run through there, possibly connecting now to a future DCFC stadium.

I also wonder what the plan is for the "West Building" slated for the former railyard area. Presumably that additionally office space has been scrapped, since it hasn't been mentioned anywhere since 2020.