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"Michigan Central" Innovation District
I puzzled over how to title this thread because, well, the name chosen for the public-private district centered on Ford's being-renovated Michigan Central ~Depot~ is so unsurprising. Michigan Central.
The plans for "Michigan Central" [Ford's name noticeably absent] were detailed yesterday and highlighted by news of Google's participation in an effort to create a mini Silicon Valley of business enterprises and educational facilities. The State of Michigan is playing along to the tune of $126 million.
I think this is a most exciting and long-term beneficial project that keeps Detroit and Michigan on the cutting edge with the future of tech and industry with the preservation of a major work of architecture tossed in.
Attachment 41944
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.
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.
https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...a03808_1348351
Innovator hired to lay track for future to run through Detroit
Sound to me like Ford found the right person for the job...
Joshua Sirefman, an urban planner who trained at the University of Michigan and began his career in Detroit, is returning to lead the evolution of Michigan Central Station as the new CEO of what is now a subsidiary of Ford Motor Co.
Sirefman, 54, lives in New York City and plans to look for a home within walking distance of the iconic building in Corktown, which is scheduled to open in 2023 in what city leaders have deemed a 30-acre innovation district that will advance the future of mobility.
“Part of Michigan Central's success should be defined by how much Corktown and communities in southwest Detroit feel a part of it and benefit from it and how much the impact on those communities is the result of a real and active dialogue,” Sirefman said. “I'm looking forward to meeting people in all of those communities and elsewhere in Detroit.”
“Innovation already underway includes pilots in development such as an app that helps visually impaired people navigate complicated urban landscapes in response to community needs, programs to support electrification of commercial fleets, plus rethinking how goods move on the first and last 50 feet of their journey,” the news release said. “Michigan Central is partnering in a study to explore the feasibility of creating commercial drone testing corridors, and in a pilot project to make Michigan the first U.S. state to implement a public wireless electric vehicle charging system on a public road."
https://freep-mi.newsmemory.com?publ...af636d_1348362