Detroit Free Press staff Ford will hold an open house next weekend at Michigan Central Station. Details will be shared Tuesday at Ford's event celebrating its purchase of the derelict train depot last week, but said the station will be open for tours from Friday, June 22- Sunday, June 24. The car company bought the depot, a Detroit icon during its life and then as a symbol of decline after in closed in 1988, to create a hub for an advanced automotive campus as it re-establishes itself in the city. Exclusive:Bill Ford shares vision for Corktown On Tuesday, the carmaker will tell more about its plans for the train station and Corktown at an outdoor event at 11 a.m. at the station off of Michigan Avenue at 15th Street. The public will be admitted to the Tuesday event on a first come, first served basis, officials said. Registration may be found here. Detroit train station officially sold to Ford<doc-sep>Ian Thibodeau The Detroit News Ford Motor Co. plans to give free tours inside Michigan Central Depot this weekend, ahead of its planned renovation of the towering Corktown building. The public can walk around the depot's Grand Hall, where thousands of passengers a day entered to board trains when the building was still operating at its peak. The free tours will run from 1-6 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The building is located at 2001 15th St. in Detroit. Ford and the Detroit Historical Society will have a curated exhibit inside the 18-story, 500,000-square-foot building recently purchased by the automaker. Artifacts will provide glimpses of the depot's history. Visitors will get a first look at a documentary on the train station. The open house is the latest step for Ford's community outreach in Detroit. The automaker plans to poll the community about how they want the public spaces of the building to be used. Restaurants, retail spaces, coffee shops and markets are possibilities for the building's renovation, which public dollars are likely to help fund. Ford plans to refurbish the building by 2022. The company plans to use the building for offices for 5,000 people — 2,500 of whom will be Ford employees. Amtrak abandoned the building for a new facility on Woodward in the New Center area in 1994. The last train left Michigan Central Depot at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 5, 1988, heading toward Chicago. Billionaire Manuel “Matty” Moroun took over the building in 1992, and the station has since sat vacant. After years of being open to the elements, the interior is crumbling, though the bones of the building — steel beams encased by concrete — are still strong, according to Ford Land Co. CEO Dave Dubensky. The derelict condition of Michigan Central Depot is the key factor Ford could use to secure tax incentives aimed at reviving the historic property, say two commercial real estate attorneys and other analysts. Ford's executive chairman, Bill Ford Jr., told The Detroit News the automaker expects its Corktown plans to qualify for tax incentives that would be roughly proportional, percentage-wise, to the package recently awarded to a four-project, $2.2 billion construction package planned by Quicken Loans Inc. Chairman Dan Gilbert's real estate arm. Those tax incentives come in various forms. One way is by limiting the amount of property tax Ford pays in the future. It could come in the form of a construction grant from the state of Michigan. And if Ford can prove its Corktown plans would bring new workers and residents into Michigan, those tax incentives could come from the state income taxes of future workers in the Corktown buildings. Those state income taxes usually go toward paying for such things as fixing roads and generally supporting state government departments. Louis Aguilar of The Detroit News contributed. ithibodeau@detroitnews.com Twitter: @Ian_Thibodeau<doc-sep>Update: According to the event page, registration is full, but individuals who haven’t registered are encouraged to join the waitlist. Here’s something we don’t get to say everyday. This weekend, you have the chance to legally walk through the main floor of Michigan Central Station. Ford Motor Company will open the lobby to the public Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for a chance to see the iconic train station before the big renovation. Free tours will run from 1-6 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. On the company’s event page, registration is suggested. More information including artist schedule, parking, and transit options are also on the event page. According to the Detroit News, the Detroit Historical Society along with Ford will have an exhibit with artifacts in the train station. A History Channel documentary that will air next month will also be previewed. If this weekend doesn’t work out, Ford also released a video of what Michigan Central Station looks like these days. We recently published a photo tour of the station as well. Ford recently purchased the long-vacant Michigan Central Station and plans to build a large campus in Corktown for its work with autonomous vehicles.<doc-sep>
Ian Thibodeau and Daniel Howes The Detroit News Roughly 5,000 people registered in advance to attend Ford Motor Co.'s big show Tuesday morning outside Michigan Central Depot. Many more are expected to watch and listen to the event from outside of the gates as Ford celebrates its purchase of the long-vacant train depot in Corktown. Detroit rapper Big Sean will make an appearance on stage, multiple sources with knowledge of the plans told The Detroit News. He's expected to do a short performance, then offer remarks at some point during the event that begins at 11 a.m. event. The Detroit Children's Choir is also expected to perform. The event is open to the public, though to get inside the fence erected around a stage set up in Roosevelt Park immediately north of the station, attendees must have RSVP'd in advance. No further reservations are being taken. Later this week, the company wants to take people inside the building before it starts construction. Ford will host an open house at the station this Friday through Sunday. Free tours run from 1-6 p.m. Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The performances and open house are the latest step for Ford's community outreach in Detroit. The automaker plans to poll the community regarding what community members want to see inside the train station's public space. Restaurants, retail spaces, coffee shops and markets are expected. Ford plans to redevelop the train station by 2022 as an anchor to a new Corktown campus, which is expected to bring 5,000 workers to the neighborhood. The building will anchor a Corktown campus Ford plans to fill with 2,500 of its own employees connected to the company's ventures in self-driving cars, electrification and transportation strategies for the future. The campus will also have room for an additional 2,500 people affiliated with Ford's technology partners. ithibodeau@detroitnews.com Twitter: @Ian_Thibodeau