Once a symbol of Detroit’s decline, the iconic Michigan Central Station reopens its doors

A landmarked historic building in Detroit, familiar to many from the west bank of the Windsor River, is being given new life for a new purpose this week.

And it’s another sign that the city, whose population is growing for the first time in decades, is experiencing a boom.

Michigan Central Station will reopen this week with a new mission to serve as a global innovation center for “mobility solutions,” the project’s website says.

The city describes itself as a “destination for the advancement of technologies and programs that address the barriers to social, economic and physical mobility.”

The building in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood will open to the public on Thursday with already sold-out tours, concerts and other fanfare to celebrate the occasion.

“As a metaphor, you can see all the chapters the station has gone through,” says Melissa Dittmer, Michigan Central’s department manager, showing how a column whose bottom was damaged by water is topped with new and restored stones.

“As we think about how we can repurpose the station for the next 100 years of mobility and innovation, we can build many partnerships with Windsor and Canada.”

The station opened in 1913 and served as a hub for the Michigan Railroad and intercity traffic. The wagons that passed through the station were initially connected to Canada by ferry and later by a tunnel.

Today, those ties to Canada are less strong, but officials say the newly renovated facility offers potential for expanding ties between Detroit, Windsor, Ontario, and Canada.

“As we think about the next 100 years of mobilization, there are many partnerships we can build with Windsor and with Canada based on the work we do in mobility and innovation and how that is reflected here,” Dittmer said.

The station, an iconic sight for those crossing the Ambassador Bridge into the U.S., closed in 1988 and fell into disrepair. This came amid a decades-long population decline in Detroit. The city had a population of 1.8 million in the 1950s before its population plummeted due to a variety of factors, including a riot in 1967 and flight to the suburbs. In 2013, the city filed for bankruptcy.

In May, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the population of Michigan’s largest city grew by 1,852, from 631,366 in 2022 to 633,218 last year.

The station began its road to renovation and repair in 2018 after Ford Motor Company purchased the property. The full accounting of the renovation project has not been released, but the automaker initially stated that the project would cost $740 million.

The 12-hectare (30-acre) campus will serve as the “heart of Michigan Central’s technology” and “cultural hub,” according to Michigan Central, and will provide space for restaurants, retail and other community partners.

An example of this innovation can be found right next to Michigan Central on the sprawling campus: The Albert Khan-designed Book Depository, which opened in 1936 and served as both a U.S. post office and later a warehouse for the Detroit public school system, was given new life last year.

Today, it is home to the Detroit headquarters of Newlab, a platform for tech start-ups. According to Michigan Central, over 100 start-ups are already located there and 550 people are employed.

As part of its mission to increase mobility at the renovated Michigan Central, there is a stretch of electric road right outside its door where electric vehicles can be charged while driving.

“When we think about the future of Michigan Central, we constantly talk about the importance and significance of the fact that we are located directly at an international border crossing and that the Windsor, Ontario and Toronto markets are right next door to us,” said Josh Sirefman, CEO of Michigan Central.

“We hope that the work here reflects the opportunities it creates.”

In addition to cross-border cooperation, Sirefman believes that passenger rail service between Windsor and Detroit could one day be possible again. This $44 million idea was only floated last November by Amtrak and Via Rail. Currently, only freight is transported over the tracks through a rail tunnel that connects both sides.

“We are confident that with time and with the involvement of all levels of government, passenger transport by rail will be possible again.”