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Ford details Dearborn campus construction plans, set for 2025 completion

The Ford campus will feature interlinked buildings and no cars within its perimeter.

Sean Szymkowski
It all started with Gran Turismo. From those early PlayStation days, Sean was drawn to anything with four wheels. Prior to joining the Roadshow team, he was a freelance contributor for Motor Authority, The Car Connection and Green Car Reports. As for what's in the garage, Sean owns a 2016 Chevrolet SS, and yes, it has Holden badges.
Sean Szymkowski
2 min read
Ford Dearborn campus 2025 rendering

Come 2025, the Research and Engineering Center should look a lot like this.

Ford

No cars, coffee shops, scooters and lots of nature. Those are some of the highlights from Ford's latest revised plans for planned upgrades to the campus of its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. On Tuesday, the automaker revealed an updated timeline and set of goals for the campus. Largely, they reflect changes made after Ford purchased the old Michigan Central Station in Detroit.

With some of the focus on the upcoming mobility hub in Detroit, Ford retuned its Dearborn focus. According to the information the automaker shared, the new campus will replace buildings of the Research and Engineering Center. A new Product Development Center will sit in its place with a completion date of 2022.

By 2025, the central campus will be finished and will sprawl near downtown Dearborn. Ford expects this new site to house some 6,000 employees from the design and vehicle development teams. Although it may seem over-the-top today, Ford plans to make sure the campus will accommodate up to 20,000 employees in the future.

Ford Dearborn campus 2025 rendering

Ford wants there to be a focus on outdoor spaces with zero cars on the grounds.

Ford

However, this won't be a typical redesign of Ford's main campus. Instead, it will look toward the future and incorporate the many technologies that the automotive industry is most focused on today. Thus, movement around the campus will be "pedestrian-focused" with an emphasis on transit and mobility. A shared transportation loop and various mobility vehicles will be onsite at all times. In fact, Ford said personal vehicles will be relegated to campus' perimeter. That's right: no cars on the automaker's campus. That could change whenever autonomous cars become the norm, but for now, bikes, scooters and shuttles will be the focus.

For employees, Ford said officers and furniture will be flexible to allow working in new ways and the new construction will include outdoor spaces for use during all seasons.

The automaker added the revamped Dearborn campus will create "a mobility corridor" for Ford with a presence not only in Dearborn, but in Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

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