Possible New Life for Michigan Central Station? Ford Motor Co. a Buyer? YES!

[Zads07]

Fantastic news. I was hoping Ford would change out the windows. They just aren't historically accurate and the Mourons knew that, they just didn't care.

Good first step for Ford.

[Richard]

Two different situations,

First owner has no intention of a complete re work,so under pressure to do something in order to make it whether tight,sticks cheap kinda close windows in,out of pocket.

Second owner comes in and is doing a complete rehab which would include a variety of tax credits that will make it feasible to replace with historical correct and energy efficient.

The only question is,cheap alternative or not did they serve the goals of improving the looks and secure the building as a temporary fix?

[Jimaz]

...
Say goodbye to Michigan Central Station's replacement windows

Michigan Central Station once again needs new windows.
Less than three years after the Moroun family installed more than 1,000 of them at the vacant depot in Corktown [[with some less-than-gentle nudging from the Duggan administration), Ford Motor Co. will rip out what a spokeswoman said yesterday were windows that "are not historically correct for our planned restoration."...

What a colossal waste. It's interesting that we never tolerate such waste unless it's created by those who wield enormous wealth. Then it's perfectly acceptable. There's something profoundly perverse about that.

I'm not condemning either party in this story. I'm just pointing out that those who criticize the inefficiencies of centralized planning aren't likely to condemn the inefficiency of this decentralized planning.

Why is that? Sincerely.

[davewindsor]

What a colossal waste. It's interesting that we never tolerate such waste unless it's created by those who wield enormous wealth. Then it's perfectly acceptable. There's something profoundly perverse about that.

I'm not condemning either party in this story. I'm just pointing out that those who criticize the inefficiencies of centralized planning aren't likely to condemn the inefficiency of this decentralized planning.

Why is that? Sincerely.

In an efficient free market system, the MCS would have been torn down a long time ago and we wouldn't be having this discussion. Moroun just wanted the property for the railway tracks behind it. If Moroun's intent was to preserve the property, he wouldn't have let it deteriorate to the mess it was several years ago.

[Richard]

Lots of blame to go around,you can shut the door on a building and windows do not implode and tiles do not break free from the walls and install themselves in round houses.

You can require property owners to mothball but you also have to enforce and be serious against those bent on destruction because everything is relevant you really cannot expect a billionaire to burn a million dollars on the table just as you cannot expect somebody that makes 25,000 a year to do the same.

It was indicative of a broken system whose chapter has closed and a new one has started,the only thing you can really do is learn and apply in order to keep it from happening again,really no point on dwelling on the past.

[stasu1213]

Two different situations,First owner has no intention of a complete re work,so under pressure to do something in order to make it whether tight,sticks cheap kinda close windows in,out of pocket.Second owner comes in and is doing a complete rehab which would include a variety of tax credits that will make it feasible to replace with historical correct and energy efficient.The only question is,cheap alternative or not did they serve the goals of improving the looks and secure the building as a temporary fix?

Don't mind the tax credit as long as Ford would hire some whom love in the city

[Honky Tonk]

Don't mind the tax credit as long as Ford would hire some whom love in the city

I think if you go down to Riverside Park any evening, you'll see quite a few whom love in the city.

[K-slice]

Apparently it's not enough for some that Ford is bringing this landmark back to life and investing millions in the area. Some of the locals want handouts from their new neighbor in the form of rent subsidies, money to pay property taxes, or free home repairs.

Reading through this list I can't imagine what kind of entitled mentality you must need to draft something like this.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ts/1340684002/

[Richard]

They have 17 billion in cash,that should be divided evenly among the population,instead of the cash I will take one of those GT40 things and give the Dodge chargers a run for thier money.

Good thing they left the cheapey winders in there,it’s going to be sitting for awhile yet.

[401don]

Don't mind the tax credit as long as Ford would hire some whom love in the city

If there are unemployed designers, programmers and engineers in the city I'm sure Ford will be happy to hire them.

[Atticus]

Apparently it's not enough for some that Ford is bringing this landmark back to life and investing millions in the area. Some of the locals want handouts from their new neighbor in the form of rent subsidies, money to pay property taxes, or free home repairs.

Reading through this list I can't imagine what kind of entitled mentality you must need to draft something like this.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...ts/1340684002/

It will be interesting to see how many of these requests the city requires Ford to adhere to. Because Ford is receiving a significant amount of tax incentives, some amount of demands are only fair.

But I also hope there are some adults in the room who realize that if your demands go too far, a bad precedent is set that will turn away future investors from bringing more development [[and ultimately eventual tax dollars) to the city.

[Richard]

Outside of the mayor imposed of setting aside 20% for affordable housing when residential is added what demands were placed on Mr Gilbert projects and the stadium project,were they could not even demand that they keep historical buildings.

Maybe Ford is not a part of that click that has the city council connections.

I guess the whole corporations are responsible for social reform worked so well in Venezuela,Maybe it is worth a shot in Detroit?

[SammyS]

Here are my answers.

• A rent subsidy for people who have been renters in the Impact Zone prior to the announcement of the Ford project for a 5-year period Move to a more affordable neighborhood
• A program to subsidize property tax payments for longtime owner-occupied homes Property taxes are limited by Heedlee amendment and only affect new home buyers. New home buyers know what they're in for.
• A single-family home repair grant program Maintain your own home like everyone else. Lack of maintenance will result in city infractions....like everywhere else where residents care about their neighborhood.
• Improvements to Stanton Park in Hubbard Richard in the amount of $200,000 Maybe. $200k doesn't buy much in terms of improvements.
• A scholarship program for Impact Zone students and adults for advanced technical school education and college scholarships Not the responsibility of a Corporation
• Creation of a "hiring hall" with an established entry point for Impact Area residents This development is unlikely looking for many entry point employees.
• An agreement by Ford to communicate its intended mobility experiments and offer opportunities for feedback and first-access to pilot programs. It would be irresponsible to shareholders to communicate anything in development.

​
So what should the city expect in return for the subsidies? Easy. Not what we have seen on that sight for over 30 years.

[archfan]

I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask. Note that they did not just get together on their own, it's a city-sponsored group, according to an earlier article:

Under the Community Benefits resolution that passed in 2016, a Neighborhood Advisory Council is to be formed when a development project is worth $75 million or more in value, gets $1 million or more in property tax abatements or is given $1 million or more in city land. The council is then charged with advising the developer of any concerns community members have about the anticipated project.

[ABetterDetroit]

Looks like the price was 90 Million.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...on/1412930002/

[SammyS]

There should be no question about incentives since the alternative is not good for anyone, especially surrounding residents. I also think it’s reasonable given the overall plan. It should be viewed as a business proposal and not an opportunity to extort for freebies. I prey City Council does not screw this one up.

[3WC]

If I were a Ford Motor Company shareholder [[thank God I'm not) I would be furious to learn it spent $90 million on that building. Matty Maroun must think he died and went to heaven. Laughing all the way to his grave I'll bet.

[Richard]

They are not showing the breakdown of the package deal involving multiple properties,they could have lumped them all together because Ford was going to incorporate the erea as a large property.

Thats close to what Mr G spent buying up downtown.

10 years ago you could have proably bought a good half of the city for a billion cash.

$90 million is 4 days revenue for Ford,pocket change in the bigger picture.

[3WC]

Ford's [[Symbol: F) share price a few minutes ago was $9.30, down from it's $9.38 opening. That's pennies above the 52 week low of $9.22 [[high was $13.48.)

There's lots of reasons for Ford's never ending, terrible stock market performance, but one of them has to be the acquisition of the MCS.

$90 million may only be 4 day's revenue, but no business can be successful without watching costs to the penny, regardless of market cap, revenue etc. I have little faith in Ford's ability to increase shareholder value and evidently the broader market feels the same way.

If Ford's commitment to spend several hundred million [[of our taxpayer money as well as it's own) to buy and develop the MCS and whatever else it bought was such a reasonable business expense the market would applaud the decision, and it obviously hasn't.

Ford never seems to learn. Henry Ford II had delusions of grandeur with his plan to build the Ren Cen - a business about which he knew very little - and ended up pissing away about $250 million [[including the losses of Ford Motor Credit.) The collateral damage to the City's business community was hundreds of millions more in depreciated office building values. Henry's good friend Al Taubman was inspecting the development with him and they watched as the basement was being excavated: Al told Henry - "Henry, do the City a favor and fill it in [[the excavation) while there's still time." [[See Taubman's autobiography, " Threshold Resistance.")

[O3H]

NEVER EVER forget :

Ford will receive more than $100 million in tax abatements
from the City of Detroit as part of a proposed
$238.6-million aid package the auto company plans
to submit for its tech campus in Corktown

That is money DETROIT will NOT get in taxes.............think about it

Ford said openly it planned to spend nearly $740 million on renovations
and wants from "federal, state and local groups/officials"
at least $250 million in "tax or other incentives" to support the project.

Spend 740 get 250 back --- changes the flavor a bit, huh ?

[Burnsie]

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/constr...entral-station

Article from Thursday.

[Johnnny5]

NEVER EVER forget :

Ford will receive more than $100 million in tax abatements
from the City of Detroit as part of a proposed
$238.6-million aid package the auto company plans
to submit for its tech campus in Corktown

That is money DETROIT will NOT get in taxes.............think about it

Ford said openly it planned to spend nearly $740 million on renovations
and wants from "federal, state and local groups/officials"
at least $250 million in "tax or other incentives" to support the project.

Spend 740 get 250 back --- changes the flavor a bit, huh ?

And there's little doubt that even after Ford gets these huge tax breaks, they'll be pushing for more at every turn. All the while Detroit residents are still facing the highest property taxes in the state and losing their damn homes when they can't pay them!

I would love to see MCS saved and restored, but Ford seems to have picked a very unusual time to do so. Their stock prices are in the toilet, their credit rating is literally on the knife's edge of junk status and the outlook for the auto industry in shaky at best [[And possibly scary).

Also, Ford does have an enormous headquarters property just 10 miles down the road that is currently in the middle of a billion dollars in updates and renovations. Dumping hundreds of millions into a separate campus at MCS seems like a wasteful redundancy just to try and pass themselves off to the urban renewal crowd. Yeah, I know top, young talent all want to live in an loft and ride their Lime scooter to work with their fair trade coffee in one hand and their hipster beard blowing in the wind. I also assume they would prefer to a work in a city where that beard isn't frozen solid in the Winter, and for a company that's not one gas spike away from disaster.

[Worldsgreatest]

You're kidding right? The Corktown tech campus development only costs a few weeks of profit for Ford, they're building because they're hiring and need the space.

The 11 billion restructuring plan is far more impactful to the company than anything going on with MCS.

[Honky Tonk]

You're kidding right? The Corktown tech campus development only costs a few weeks of profit for Ford, they're building because they're hiring and need the space.

The 11 billion restructuring plan is far more impactful to the company than anything going on with MCS.

That's why both Ford and GM are heading for round 2 of "buyouts" because they need the space to ramp up scooter production. @ least any subsides given to Ford will, hopefully, create some permanent engineering and design jobs in Detroit and not a bunch of empty hockey seats and parking lots.

[Worldsgreatest]

Yes it is actually, I was exactly right about the GM buyouts. https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/general-motors/2018/11/06/gm-general-motors-job-cuts/1892154002/

You're comparing a tech campus to the Ilitch's pizzarena? I don't know how to respond to that other than, lmfao.