Ford Pouring $60 Million Into Wagner Place Development

DEARBORN, MI — Ford is pouring $60 million dollars into West Dearborn to develop "Wagner Place," a new office and retail space, according to a press release.

So, what will Wagner Place be like? The massive project will essentially turn two blocks of mostly vacant buildings into a custom urban center with outdoor green space, first-floor retail stores and top-level offices for up to 600 Ford employees. The Wagner Building – a 120-year-old former hotel which has been vacant for nearly 10 years – will maintain its historic façade and be updated into retail and office space.

“Wagner Place will be beneficial both to the community as well as Ford employees,” Donna Inch, chairman and CEO, Ford Land, said in a statement. “It is part of the company’s overall Dearborn campus transformation plan as Ford expands to be an auto and mobility company and recruits a new generation of talented workers.”

Wagner Place is a big part of Ford's 10-year plan to update and consolidate its dated Dearborn facilities and transfer 30,000 employees currently spread across 70 buildings into primarily just two sites – a product campus and a world headquarters campus.

Wagner Place is slated to be completed in mid-2018. The city of Dearborn plans to construct a new public parking structure near the development with support from Michigan Strategic Fund, according to the press release.

Renderings courtesy of Ford Motor Company