(WXYZ) — Ford is celebrating the launch of Michigan Central’s Newlab Detroit Tuesday in the restored Book Depository, a 1936 Albert Kahn-designed building.
Book Depository Historical Image (Credit: Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affairs, Wayne State University)
The Newlab opening marks the official launch of Michigan Central as leaders work to create a hub for “breakthrough solutions at the intersection of mobility and society.”
“It’s all about creating the future … we’re going to build the future of mobility right here in Detroit,” said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr.
Ford Jr. said once the Book Depository building along with Michigan Central are complete, the impact on the local businesses is going to be great.
“We’re going to have restaurants and bars and art and lots of fun things going on in the train station that I want everybody in this region, not just the city, to take advantage of,” said Ford Jr.
The mission of Newlab Detroit, according to Ford, is to act as high-tech startup ecosystem, providing a space with vital resources for entrepreneurs, engineers and scientists as they work to establish innovative companies.
"I wanted to set out to build the kind of community here where the best and the brightest from around the world would want to come," said Ford Jr.
Courtesy: Brian Ferry
Currently, Newlab Detroit has more than 150 members from more than 25 companies, officials say.
Those companies include: Airspace Link, a leading drone management platform; Cavnue, a company accelerating the benefits of automated vehicles through advanced roadways; Grounded, a company developing electrified recreational vehicles; Wheel.me, a Norway-based robotics company that invented the world's first and only autonomous wheel; and JustAir, a Detroit-based startup developing local air pollution monitoring solution.
Courtesy: Brian Ferry
The building for Newlab Detroit was built as a post office and mail-sorting facility before being used as the Detroit Public Schools’ Book Depository.
Check out the opening celebration below:
