Demo begins on Ford's PDC in Dearborn

Printable View

September-15-20, 08:37 AM
detlump

Demo begins on Ford's PDC in Dearborn

I just saw this article in Hemmings' Daily email. Looks like a big part of Ford's history is being demolished for a "walkable" campus. Back in my previous life, I visited the PDC on several occasions. I only saw a portion of it but it was quite a complex. Why not just leave it alone and modernize it? If so many people are working from home just leave it alone?

Ford is spending a lot of money on buildings lately. Makes me wonder if they should instead be focused on products. After all, that is what they sell. Here's a hint - if more people are walking they aren't buying cars!

Somewhere long ago I read a nice quote from someone who said basically - beware the company focusing too much on building fancy HQs and other buildings because they aren't focused on the company [[a paraphrase). See - Kmart, Sears, Chrysler, Steelcase, McLaren, the list goes on.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/202...ign=2020-09-15
September-15-20, 10:34 AM
mikeg19

I worked at PDC for a few years and had just left about 1.5 years into their new master plan for the complex when it was announced. To the uninitiated, PDC is a massive complex of buildings that were cobbled together and added onto over decades. It is a labyrinth of corridors, closed off areas, and conference rooms. About 1/4 of the offices are located in the "basement" where there is no natural light coming in at all and has the feel of a dungeon. It's was hard to see a solution to revamping the workspace and continuing operations, as the place was so packed it was difficult to even get a desk. Obviously things have changed in the past 9 months or so, but PDC was obsolete in terms of workspace & amenities probably 15-20 years ago.

Now if you want to argue why they announced this plan back in 2014 and have barely scratched the surface of the campus revamp [[I believe to date there's a couple new parking structures and the ponds were filled in for surface parking), but in the meantime are spending about $1B on the train station, that's another debate.
September-15-20, 11:27 AM
Satiricalivory

Ford is in a competition to attract talent. Nobody wants to work in old badly aged mid-century suburban buildings. Investing in a better work space is investing in their product.

Ford has had the same dated Dearborn 60's relic buildings for over half a century. It is LONG overdue for an update.
September-15-20, 04:32 PM
hybridy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satiricalivory

Ford is in a competition to attract talent. Nobody wants to work in old badly aged mid-century suburban buildings. Investing in a better work space is investing in their product.

Ford has had the same dated Dearborn 60's relic buildings for over half a century. It is LONG overdue for an update.

This. OP out of the loop on this one. Similar for GM Design Center.

If you want to talk about white elephant HQ's - you need only look to Visteon Village or Motorola in Harvard, IL
September-16-20, 07:24 AM
Danny

Just like the old Ford Rotunda long gone.
September-17-20, 06:57 AM
Zacha341

Wow - those photos were a blast from the past. I really like cars and driving, but yeah focusing on their car engineering would be good.

I still strongly tend to perceive Fords as a weak car maker, allowing a bit more for their Trucks/ SUVs. Yet a friend with a newer Ford SUV ended up with premature engine failure requiring full engine replacementment @ 12K [[thankfully FOMOCO picked up the tab per vehicle recall)!

Quote:

Originally Posted by detlump

...Ford is spending a lot of money on buildings lately. Makes me wonder if they should instead be focused on products. After all, that is what they sell. Here's a hint - if more people are walking they aren't buying cars!