Michigan Central Station

When the Detroit Lions moved back to the city from Pontiac in 2002, the current Detroit mayor made a remark to Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., whose family owns the NFL team.

“I said to Bill, ‘You will never do more for the future of this city than what you did here today,’ ” Mayor Mike Duggan told an audience Friday. “Was I ever wrong.

“What is happening here eclipses anything we have ever seen,” he said.

Duggan recounted that decades-old remark from the grand opening of downtown’s Ford Field during a news conference inside Ford Motor Co.’s under-renovation Michigan Central Station, the centerpiece of the automaker’s future 30-acre mobility-focused “innovation district” campus in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, left, Ford Motor Co. Executive Chair Bill Ford, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Google and Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat and Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield pose for a photo on stage before a presentation about the progress in the district and the building at Michigan Central Station in Detroit on Feb. 4, 2022.

The Friday event celebrated a new public-private partnership among Ford, the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit — plus new commitments from tech giant Google.

More:Ford to enter public-private partnership at new Detroit campus

More:Transformed Michigan Central Station to include hotel rooms, massive wedding space

Under the partnership, the state is to direct more than $126 million in new and existing programs and spending to support or complement Ford’s district, to be called Michigan Central.

Included in the announcement was news that Google will be a founding member of the district and also provide free computer science classes for local high schoolers inside the former train station. Detroit will be the first Midwest city to have those after-school and weekend classes for teens made available through Google’s Code Next Lab program.

Google and Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat speaks during a presentation about the progress in the district and the building at Michigan Central Station in Detroit on Feb. 4, 2022.

Last year, Google won a six-year contract to be Ford’s “preferred” cloud-computing services provider and install Android-powered Google services in Ford and Lincoln vehicles.

As part of the public-private partnership, the city of Detroit has a tentative agreement to designate a special Transportation Innovation Zone testing site within the Michigan Central district. The zone would give businesses and startups expedited approvals for trying out new technologies.

“If you have an idea to change mobility in the world, this area right here on Michigan Avenue is where you can make your dreams come true,” Duggan said of the zone.

Details on the precise location of the zone were not immediately available Friday.

Mid-2023 finish

Ford is busy rehabbing Michigan Central Station and is on pace to finish by mid-2023.

Work continues to be done on Michigan Central Station in Detroit on Feb. 4, 2022.

The train depot opened in 1913, closed in 1988 and devolved into a graffiti-covered symbol of Detroit’s declining fortunes by the 2000s. When Ford purchased the abandoned station and nearby properties in 2018, it made world headlines.

Friday’s news conference was held in the depot’s former lobby. While the room is still under construction, 29,000 ceiling tiles have been replaced or cleaned by hand since the project began.

“The men and women who have been doing the restoration on this project are amazing, so thank you to every one of you,” Bill Ford said.

Ford Motor Co. Executive Chair Bill Ford speaks to a crowd while sharing details on progress in the district, as well as who will be joining Ford at Michigan Central to help create the future on Feb. 4, 2022, at Michigan Central Station in Detroit.

“When this is open, it’s going to be amazing. It’s going to be a gathering place for the community,” he added. “Southwest (Detroit) and Corktown residents are going to come here, have fun, meet friends, hang out. It’s also going to be a great place to work in a post-COVID environment.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Ruth Porat, chief financial officer for Google and its parent company, Alphabet, also visited Ford’s train station Friday and praised the automaker’s ambitions.

Ford has said it will ultimately bring 5,000 workers to Michigan Central, with 2,500 of those being Ford employees and the others affiliated with outside organizations that would set up shop in the district.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during a presentation about the progress in the district and the building at Michigan Central Station in Detroit on Feb. 4, 2022.

“Today, we are laying the groundwork to shape the next century of transportation solutions while reducing emissions and accelerating electrification,” Whitmer said.

Of the more than $126 million in state funds to support or complement the Michigan Central project:

$72 million will be for new housing around the district via the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
$35 million will fund street planning and reconstruction through the Michigan Department of Transportation.
$2 million will be for grants for “smart infrastructure.”
Nearly $2 million will fund workforce training.
$500,000 will be designated for various electric vehicles and mobility programs.

The total cost for Ford’s new Michigan Central Detroit campus, including the train station rehab, was last pegged at $950 million.

ContactJC Reindl: 313-222-6631 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jcreindl. Read more on business and sign up for our business newsletter.

https://www.instagram.com/michigancentraldetroit

Ongoing Stuff

Get vaccinated! Yeah I know you’d like to forget about it, but there are new variants and the infection rate is climbing. Fortunately, there is an effective booster, which is recommended for people 65 and older and those who are immuno-compromised. It is available now, effective, free and you can get your appointment today here and here , including walk-Ins at SAFEWAY, Walgreen’s, Rite-Aid, SeaMar and Healthpoint.

Sign up for the King County Code Red Alert program. When you sign up for Code Red you’ll be notified immediately when there is a possible health threat. After the recent ‘Boil Water Notice’ I received just a few grouses that ‘it did not work’. I’m 99% certain that the problem is that you have to actually sign up for an account. Do It! There is this ‘guest’ option which is stupid and should not even be an option. Everyone who had an account in their system was notified. If you’re like me and signed up ten years ago (after the last notification), go to the site immediately and verify your account. Ten years is a long time for any computer system.
Check out the 223rd Green Street Project web site and take the 223rd Green Street Survey before December 11th!
Check out the Des Moines Marina Steps web site and take the Marina Steps Survey.
If you’re interested in any of our Kids or Senior activities, you can sign up here.
Learn more about our Comprehensive Plan and take the Housing Action Plan Survey.
Take the City Communication and Engagement Survey
Give blood! Schedule an appointment today. There is a CODE RED emergency shortage.
Masonic Home! There is a petition for those who are interested in historic preservation of the property. If you have questions, don’t contact me. Contact Barbara McMichael and Lloyd Lytle Jr
Community Service Officer Tonya Seaberry wants to hear from neighborhood groups interested in establishing block watch programs: Tseaberry@desmoineswa.gov or 206-878-3301.
City Of Des Moines Minor Home Repair Program: Low to moderate income households can get grants to do all sorts of necessary repairs. Email Tina Hickey (206) 870-6535.
Every home should have a Carbon Monoxide Detector–especially during the colder months! Full stop. If you need one but money is tight, South King County Fire And Rescue will get you one. Just call their Community Affairs Office at 253-946-7347.
And last, but not least: If your home has Port Package (sound insulation system) that is having issues, please go to SeatacNoise.Info

How to attend meetings and provide Public Comment

City Council Meetings are scheduled for Thursdays at 6:00PM at City Hall 21630 11th Avenue S., Suite #C Des Moines WA 98198. They can also be viewed live on Comcast Channel 21/321 or on the City’s YouTube channel. Committee Meetings are either at 4:00PM or 5:00PM, also on Thursdays.

You do not have to sign in to attend a meeting!
The sign-in sheet is only for people wishing to make a Public Comment.

There are three ways to provide Public Comment:

In person: Show up a few minutes before the meeting and sign the sheet. Public Comment is usually conducted at the beginning of the meeting.
By e-mail: All e-mails sent to citycouncil@desmoineswa.gov are considered public comment. They are instantly available to all members of the City Council and the City Clerk who includes them into the record of public comments at the next meeting.
By US Mail: Attn: City Clerk Office, 21630 11th Avenue S., Des Moines WA 98198 no later than 4:00 p.m. day of the meeting. Please provide us with your first and last name and the city in which you live.

All letters or e-mails requesting a specific action are referred by the City Clerk to the appropriate City department.

If you would like a follow up from me, personally please indicate that or call me (206) 878-0578.

The Clerk does not read e-mails to the Council in full; only the subject line. However, we do see them as soon as you send them. Your comments are added to the Agenda Packet available on the City web site following each meeting.

How to view public comments, correspondence and meeting materials

The City publishes a meeting agenda on the Friday (six days) before city council meetings. On the day after the meeting (Friday) the City updates that same file with all the slide presentations, the correspondence, and a list of the people who signed up to give public comment at the meeting. Currently, there is no button on the web site that says Show me the meeting comments for xx/xx/xxxx. You just have to know that this is the procedure. Below is a recipe to get you there.

Go to www.desmoineswa.gov
Once there, hover over Your Government and then click Council Meeting Center. (Or, you can skip Step #1 and just click on Council Meeting Center.)
Select the meeting date you’re interested in from the Schedule Of Meetings calendar.
Click on Regular Meeting for the meeting date you want. In this case, December 1, 2022.
Click the Agenda Packet link under “Print Verson”.
You can also select a meeting using the list near the top. You can also use the left and right arrows to select older meetings.
Once the agenda packet loads, there are two links we’re interested in:
- Correspondence to view all e-mails received by the City Council since the last meeting.
- Comments From The Public to view a list of the people who spoke in-person at the meeting.