Ford Motor announced Friday that Google is joining the automaker’s effort to turn a once dilapidated Detroit train station into a research center focused on electric and self-driving cars. . Additionally, Detroit and the state of Michigan have agreed to provide infrastructure and other support to the Central Michigan Innovation District, including defunct train depots and other adjacent buildings in the historic Corktown neighborhood just outside the city center, officials said.
“Together, this is another sign that we are moving forward in a way that shows Michigan is on the winning side, that we are going to lead the way in mobility, that we are serious about taking it. developing high-tech and high-skill jobs,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said at an event inside the old train station.
Ford announced plans for the Central Michigan Innovation District in 2018, shortly after it purchased the 18-story, 500,000-square-foot (46,450 square meter) ship depot. Ford Motor Foundation President Mary Culler told The Associated Press renovations at the more than century-old Michigan Central Terminal could be completed next year. Ford plans to research, test and roll out new mobility solutions there.
The station, tucked away on Corktown, has been empty since the last train left in 1988 and symbolizes Detroit’s protracted decline from America’s manufacturing powerhouse to its biggest bust.
Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motor, told attendees at Friday’s event: “I’m sick and tired of driving by this building and see this as the poster child for the decline of this building. Detroit”. “And I wanted to do something about that, and now, I think, we’re working very hard in the process of turning this from a national boxer into a national treasure.”
The state will provide resources and programs worth more than $126 million (approximately Rs 940), including infrastructure. The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker said Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s office is working to designate a Transportation Innovation District in the county, with the goal of making it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs Easily start and test projects safely.
“The day we opened Ford Field (home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions), I told Bill (Ford) that you’ll never do more for the future of the city than you did here today,” Duggan said. “Have I been wrong? What’s happening here eclipses anything we’ve seen.”
Google, which has more than 600 employees in Michigan, will open a laboratory on 30 acres (12 hectares) of land to teach computer science to high school students. Google’s role includes a certification program.
“It’s a partnership where Google will train people, and Ford will obviously accept people with that type of certification in our future,” Culler said, noting that people won’t need it. college degree.
Google’s job entails making sure people have the digital skills and training they need to succeed, said Ruth Porat, its chief financial officer.
“Michigan was at the forefront of the industrial revolution,” says Porat. “Now, the world is in the midst of a digital revolution, and Michigan is at the center of solving the big problems of the day. We think this is the right time and the right place to really make this kind of digital skills endeavor. “
The automotive industry as a whole is moving towards more fully electric and hybrid powertrain systems, more autonomous driving features and increased connectivity in vehicles.
Michigan Central Station opened in 1913 and was for decades a Detroit jewel and the hub for rail transit in and out of the city. Detroit-made vehicles – along with air travel – proved a part in its undoing.
Bill Ford hasn’t said how much it will cost to buy the train station from billionaire Manuel “Matty” Moroun or how much the automaker expects to spend to fix it, though the company does say the total investment. invested about $950 million (approximately Rs 7,100) for the station and surrounding area.
The company wants the innovation zone to be an important part of the city from here.
“Innovation creates innovation,” says Culler. “The more we’re at the forefront of that innovation and we’re seeing what others are doing, that’s going to boost everyone’s game. And I think it’s going to be a game changer for the city, the state and the region. “
