DETROIT (WXYZ) — A new transit center is likely coming to Corktown and could return trains to the grounds surrounding the former Michigan Central Station for the first time in decades.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the deal at a Downtown Detroit Partnership meeting at Michigan Central on Wednesday.
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“Downtown Detroit is open for business and on the move as one of the best places to live, work, and pioneer cutting-edge ideas,” said Whitmer in a news release. “Today’s MOU lays the foundation for a new multimodal transportation hub that will grow our regional economy, make downtown Detroit more vibrant, and connect residents and visitors to our communities. It builds on a historic investment in transit that I signed in my seventh balanced, bipartisan budget. Let’s keep getting it done.”
Under a $40 million deal included in a memorandum of understanding, Michigan Central, the Michigan Department of Transportation and the City of Detroit have committed to building a multimodal transportation hub on the Detroit Central campus. It would be built on land owned by the Ford Motor Company south of an existing Department of Public Works yard, pending the satisfactory completion of preliminary work.
According to Crain's Detroit, the memorandum of understanding calls for the engineering and environmental assessments to be completed by Oct. 1, 2026, before an agreement to actually develop the land would be signed. Once that is signed, final design and construction would be completed by Oct. 31, 2028. The facility would be targeted to open by Dec. 31, 2028.
While it is hoped the facility will bring trains back into the Michigan Central Station campus, the facility will, at least, become the new hub for bus lines operated by Greyhound, Indian Trails, and Detroit's intercity buses, which SMART operates. Crain's says the goal is also to bring the Regional Transit Authority's Detroit to Ann Arbor buses, as well as the Detroit Air Xpress buses to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, into the facility as well.
“A lot of locals really struggle with not being able to commute to work,” Detroit resident Hermela Benyam said. "Especially with the coming winter, it becomes difficult for people to navigate throughout the city.”
The proposed train line would be part of a proposed extension of a Chicago-Detroit Amtrak Wolverine train to Windsor and Toronto.
“Since this is the Michigan Central district, there's a lot of new technology, new transportation modes being developed there. So this really plays well into the technological aspect of that district,” MDOT spokesperson Michael Frezell said.
MDOT currently owns the Howard Street bus station, which currently serves Greyhound, Indian Trails, and Baron's Bus, as well as the New Center Amtrak station, all of which, according to the news release, have passed their useful life span and need major renovations.
“Detroiters deserve a better experience. It's time for a better investment to serve all Detroiters," said Sam Krassenstein, chief of infrastructure for the city of Detroit. "Forty million dollars the state is investing into what we’re calling a multi-model transit station adjacent and part of the Michigan Central campus."
While work on this project is still in its early stages and the final plan still needs to be signed off on, city officials say a new facility is badly needed.
“For decades, Michigan Central Station was the gateway to Detroit, and we are excited to begin the work of re-establishing train service at a new multi-modal transit facility in the shadow of the station,” Krassenstein said. “Detroiters deserve a first-class facility for bus and train service and this agreement puts us on a path to make it happen.”
Officials say decisions about the final project design, funding, and exact timelines will be shared as they conduct the exploratory phase over the next year.
“This is one of many building blocks of Detroit, for the Corktown neighborhood and it's going to be exciting to see what the next five years has in store with Michigan Avenue, DCFC, the station and the new multi-model faciltiy. It's really an exciting time to be here,” Krassenstein said.
