Ford is reported to have confirmed that it hopes to soon sell portions of its vacant former Wixom Assembly Plant in Michigan, the first stage of the demolition of the facility already being underway.
According to a Detroit News report, the 317-acre site has remained nearly untouched since closing in mid-2007, but at least one possible buyer – Wisconsin-based home improvement retailer Menards – has now expressed interest in a portion of the site. A spokesman for Menards was quoted as confirming: “We’re working on a deal, but nothing has been finalised just yet.” Should a deal be completed, a new store would not open until 2014 at the earliest.
Ford has not commented on specific sale negotiations, but has acknowledged it is currently speaking with multiple companies about a possible sale and eventually intends to sell a majority of the property.
Becky Sanch, a Ford spokeswoman, was quoted by the Detroit News as saying: “Our goal is to sell the entire assembly plant site,” although the OEM will retain 32 acres of the total property in the southwest corner, used as a landfill when the plant operated, for environmental management reasons.
Ford has repeatedly tried to sell portions of the site, located near Interstate 96 and Wixom Road, but the plant hasn’t found any buyers that could complete a deal.
Wixom began production in 1957 and served as the Lincoln Division’s national headquarters. The plant rolled out around 6.6 million vehicles during its lifetime, including the Ford GT and Thunderbird as well as the Lincoln LS. At its peak, more than 5,000 workers were employed at the plant. This had dropped to just 1,000 workers when it closed on 31 May 2007 as part of Ford’s Way Forward restructuring plan, which targeted the closure of 16 plants in total.
In December 2011, Ford received approval for US$20m in state tax credits to redevelop the site, credits which are now being used to demolish approximately 1 million square feet of the Wixom Assembly Plant on the southeastern corner of the property. There is no set date for when the remaining 3 million square feet will be demolished.
The tax credits were approved in large part because Townsend Energy Solutions already has committed to locating at the site after it received approval for US$6.3m in tax credits to invest US$237m to make advanced batteries and technologies for smart-grid electricity applications.
Previously, Ford had planned to turn the site into a US$725m renewable-energy park that included battery maker Xtreme Power and solar company Clairvoyant Energy. That project was expected to bring 4,300 jobs to Michigan, but fell through after the companies didn’t win US Department of Energy loans necessary to finance the sale.
