Will Ford relocate back from Dearborn to Detroit?

[us66]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

As I said before, Ford owns much of the land in Dearborn, from its HQ to Fairlane to The Henry Ford. It's their playground to do whatever they want with. That's the reason they won't be leaving Dearborn any time soon.

Good point. Henry Ford practically owned the Dearborn Police Department back in his heyday.

[jackmichigan]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

As I said before, Ford owns much of the land in Dearborn, from its HQ to Fairlane to The Henry Ford. It's their playground to do whatever they want with. That's the reason they won't be leaving Dearborn any time soon.

Actually, The Henry Ford (formerly and more appropriately known as the Edison Institute, named in honor of Henry Ford's friend Thomas Edison) is not owned by Ford Motor Company. It is a separate nonprofit corporation, however a number of Ford family members are on the Board of Directors so there are close ties.

The Fairlane development is mostly owned and leased by Ford (through Ford Land), but "Fair Lane"--the estate of Henry Ford--is not owned by Ford. It was given to the University of Michigan in, I believe, 1956 for the establishment of the UM-Dearborn campus. Recently, the Fair Lane Estate was transferred to The Ford House, which also operates the Edsel Ford estate in Grosse Pointe Shores. (Edsel was Henry Ford's only son.)

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by new2mass

The Ford Motor Company was incorporated in Detroit in 1903. The first factory was located within an old wagon factory on Mack Avenue. In 1904, Ford built its first plant on Piquette Avenue and moved all operations there. The Piquette factory is still standing there in the Milwaukee Junction area, which was the prime manufacturing area of the city in the early 20th century. Then Ford built the Highland Park plant in 1910 and moved all of its operations there, including its administrative offices. The old administration building is still sitting there on Woodward Avenue in Highland Park. So Ford moved out of Detroit in 1910 and has not been headquartered in Detroit since then.

Construction started on the Rouge plant in 1917 and marked Ford's move to Dearborn. Ford slowly transitioned from Highland Park to Dearborn between 1917 and 1932, when the major buildings of the Rouge plant were completed. The administration building at the Rouge (also called the Central Office Building) was built around 1928 and the offices were shifted from Highland Park to Dearborn then. The second Central Office Building (now known as Ford World Headquarters) was built in Dearborn in 1956.

Throughout this whole period, Ford owned and invested in numerous real estate ventures within the city of Detroit. In 1915, Ford (the company and the man) financed the final construction of Detroit's first public hospital, bought it, renamed it Henry Ford Hospital, and operated it first as a factory hospital, then later as a public hospital for the city. Ford financed the construction of Oakman Boulevard in order to connect the Highland Park plant to the Rouge. Ford was behind much of the investment for building the New Center area in the 1910s and 20s. Ford invested in the "Center for Arts and Letters" in the 1930s, which is now the Cultural Center, namely the DIA and the DPL. And, as other have mentioned, the Ren Cen was proposed and financed by Henry Ford II. So up until the building of the Ren Cen, Ford had made some major investments in the city while still being headquartered in Dearborn. But there has never been a formal financial relationship between Ford and Detroit (such as the city getting tax revenue from the corporation), at least not since before 1910.

Wow a ford historian. Now please tell us about Harry Bennet (He had a neat house down the street from us).