Ford Begins Construction on Wagner Place in West Dearborn

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Dearborn’s Ford Motor Co. is continuing their campus transformation, breaking ground yesterday on Wagner Place, a $60 million urban development including office and retail space in west Dearborn. Scheduled for completion next year, the 150,000-square-foot site will provide Ford employees and residents with new retail and restaurant options, as well as generous amounts of green space, outdoor seating, and greater walkability.

The project will convert two blocks of currently vacant buildings into mixed-use urban space, which will be resource-sufficient with water and energy conservation features and certified for leadership in energy and environmental design. Wagner Place will feature first-floor retail and restaurants, two floors of work space, and a rooftop patio. The property is designed to complement the streetscape with varying rooflines, windows, awnings, and green space, and will feature the restored façade of the 120-year-old Wagner Hotel and its signature turret.

Approximately 600 Ford global data insights and analytics (GDIA) employees will occupy Wagner Place, a team that continues to grow as Ford evolves as an auto and mobility company. GDIA employees work to transform the customer experience, enable new mobility products and services, and help the company operate more efficiently.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. participated in the ceremonial groundbreaking with Dave Dubensky, Ford Land chairman and CEO.

“Developing an urban office environment positions Ford to offer a work setting that will appeal to a new generation of employees,” says Dubensky. “Wagner Place supports our goals to create a more collaborative and inviting campus atmosphere for all employees.”

The development is within walking distance to Ford’s product development campus, and part of the 10-year transformation of the company’s more than 60-year-old facilities throughout Dearborn, which will co-locate approximately 30,000 employees from 70 buildings into two primary sites. Wagner Place is scheduled for completion in mid-2018.

The project received $3 million in support from the Michigan Strategic Fund, which the City of Dearborn will use to construct a 373-spot public parking structure near the development at West Village Drive and Monroe Street for consumer and employee parking.