MICHIGAN CENTRAL STATION

A $6 million transformation of Roosevelt Park in Corktown broke ground on Tuesday, and Detroit has released renderings of the project.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joins us on Flashpoint this episode to discuss the development of Michigan Central near Downtown Detroit, and the impact it will have on the state, its workforce and its future in mobility.

This week, we're joined at the Michigan Central Station construction site by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, who discusses the impact that the development will have on the city.

This week on Flashpoint, we’re joined by executive chair at Ford Motor Company, Bill Ford Jr., who shares with us his vision for the development at the Michigan Central Station site.

Watch Flashpoint every Sunday at 10 a.m. on Local 4 News.

It’s not going to be just Ford moving into the Michigan Central Station when it’s ready.

Here are this morning's top stories.

The company said it is on track to have offices up and running by the end of the year, but there’s plenty left to be done.

After receiving a personal gift from Ford CEO Jim Farley, England was given a VIP tour of Detroit’s iconic Michigan Central Station. It’s a tour of a lifetime and what a lifetime England has had.

Here are tonight's top stories.

It was two years ago that Ford Motor Company began the painstaking process of converting Michigan Central Station into office workspace.

Well, after five rounds over three weeks and more than 21,000 total votes, we’ve got a winner in our Detroit Best Building Bracket challenge. Defeating the Albert Kahn Building, the Grand Army of the Republic Building, the top-seeded Guardian Building in the semifinal -- and then the other top-seed, the Fisher Building in the final round -- Detroit’s Best Building is.....Michigan Central Station! What a run for the old train depot, now soon-to-be Ford office, beating both of our top seeds and it wasn’t even that close in the end. Read more: A brief history of Michigan Central Station as historic Detroit train depot prepares for new chapterAd(AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File) (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. The final bracket after Round 5:

DETROIT – When it was announced of Ford Motor Company’s plans to revitalize the Michigan Central Station and make it a hub, it was an initiative that had many excited to see what it would look like. The project is going to be made up of four buildings total. The book depository is also being rehabbed to go with an existing Ford building and a new build to be the hub of an innovation corridor. “All those pieces start to connect together and so you can imagine that you’re on a bike and you’re going from the riverfront all the way to the train station. However, the team still hope to have the mobility center open by 2022 and the train station by 2023.

FILE - In this June 14, 2018, file photo, Bill Ford Jr., Ford Motor Company Executive Chairman and Chairman of the Board, poses in the Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Details were released Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, and are part of Ford's $740 million project to create an innovation hub to help shape the way people and goods will move around in the future. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya File)DETROIT – Ford Motor Co. revealed plans Tuesday to transform a long-vacant book warehouse into a hub for automobile innovation in Detroit’s oldest neighborhood. Through it all, the train station remained standing — too costly to demolish, too large for other uses, and a contradiction to its once-ornate grandeur. About 250 workers in Ford’s autonomous vehicle business unit already work out of The Factory, another building near the train station.

DETROIT – When Ford announced it was taking over Michigan Central Station we were told the rehab would be meticulous. On Wednesday, Local 4 got a look at how some very high tech tools are being used to make sure everything is exactly how it should be. 3D scanners are being used to restore the station to its former glory. Local 4 spoke with Dan Saperstein, the senior vice president of business systems at Computer Aided Technology (CATI) to find out more. Click here for more Michigan Central Station coverageWatch the video above for the full report

Take a look inside Michigan Central Station in Detroit as Ford continues its renovation of the historic train depot. The Handbuilt City toured the building recently and created a virtual tour showing progress inside. After pausing due to the pandemic, renovation work at Michigan Central resumed in early August. Ford Motor Co. bought the iconic building just outside downtown in 2018 for research and development of self-driving vehicles. Look back: A brief history of Michigan Central Station as historic Detroit train depot prepares for new chapterWork on the 500,000-square-foot (46,000-square-meter) building is still expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

DETROIT Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer with other state and city leaders, like Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan all gathered outside the historic Michigan Central Station to talk about a new project. The project will allow autonomous vehicles to travel from Detroit to Ann Arbor, the Michigan Connected Corridor. What may be the worlds most sophisticated roadway will be built here in Michigan, Whitmer said. READ MORE: Michigan plans dedicated road lanes for autonomous vehicles

DETROIT – Longtime Detroit businessman, and owner of the Ambassador Bridge, Manuel “Matty” Moroun, has died at 93, according to his family. The Moroun family, which has stakes in other transportation businesses, has a net worth of more than $1 billion, according to Forbes. “The Detroit Regional Chamber extends its condolences to the family and friends of Manuel ‘Matty’ Moroun – especially to his son Matt and wife Nora who are so engaged in our community. Matty Moroun was a self-made success story. With his passing, we celebrate his life and the family he built in Detroit,” said Sandy K. Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber.

DETROIT – The first train rolled out of Michigan Central Station on Dec. 26, 1913. Michigan Central was originally scheduled to open in 1914, but a fire at the old depot at Third and Jefferson avenues forced the station to open early. A newspaper quote from when Michigan Central Station first opened in 1913 is projected on the front of the building on June 15, 2018. The train station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. New hopeFord Motor Co. announced it had purchased the train station in the summer of 2018.

DETROIT A surprise awaited the Detroit Youth Choir after they performed inside Michigan Central Station on Wednesday evening. The Ford Fund gifted the choir with a new van and each member of the choir with a $1,000 scholarship. The Detroit Youth Choir performs inside Michigan Central Station on Sept. 25, 2019. (WDIV)The choir has been on what you may call a welcome home tour after placing second in NBC's "America's Got Talent." The came home to a welcome party in Campus Martius during which they received a $1 million endowment.

Detroit Youth Choir members received a new van and scholarships from the Ford Fund on Sept. 25, 2019. (WDIV)DETROIT - A surprise awaited the Detroit Youth Choir after they performed inside Michigan Central Station on Wednesday evening. The Ford Fund gifted the choir with a new van and each member of the choir with a $1,000 scholarship. The Detroit Youth Choir performs inside Michigan Central Station on Sept. 25, 2019. (WDIV)The choir has been on what you may call a welcome home tour after placing second in NBC's "America's Got Talent."

DETROIT - A surprise awaited the Detroit Youth Choir after they performed inside Michigan Central Station on Wednesday evening. The Ford Fund gifted the choir with a new van and each member of the choir with a $1,000 scholarship. The Detroit Youth Choir performs inside Michigan Central Station on Sept. 25, 2019. (WDIV)The choir has been on what you may call a welcome home tour after placing second in NBC's "America's Got Talent." The came home to a welcome party in Campus Martius during which they received a $1 million endowment.

The Detroit Youth Choir performs inside Michigan Central Station on Sept. 25, 2019. (WDIV)DETROIT - A surprise awaited the Detroit Youth Choir after they performed inside Michigan Central Station on Wednesday evening. The Ford Fund gifted the choir with a new van and each member of the choir with a $1,000 scholarship. Detroit Youth Choir members received a new van and scholarships from the Ford Fund on Sept. 25, 2019. (WDIV)Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

DETROIT - The Detroit Youth Choir is bringing their music inside the historic walls of the Michigan Central Station. The choir is scheduled to perform inside the train station between 6 p.m and 6:45 p.m. Wednesday. The choir has been on what you may call a welcome home tour after placing 2nd in NBC's "America's Got Talent." The came home to a welcome party in Campus Martius during which they received a $1 million endowment. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

DETROIT A surprise awaited the Detroit Youth Choir after they performed inside Michigan Central Station on Wednesday evening. The Ford Fund gifted the choir with a new van and each member of the choir with a $1,000 scholarship. The Detroit Youth Choir performs inside Michigan Central Station on Sept. 25, 2019. (WDIV)The choir has been on what you may call a welcome home tour after placing second in NBC's "America's Got Talent." The came home to a welcome party in Campus Martius during which they received a $1 million endowment.

DETROIT - Michigan Central Station is undergoing a massive rebirth in Detroit's Corktown. A family of red-tailed hawks have made the old train station their home while Ford prepares the building for its eventual Detroit office space. Filmmaker Stephen McGee took it upon himself to begin documenting the hawks as they prepared for flight. The hawks were nesting far up the building -- making the leap risky for baby hawks. Watch Alex Atwell's Uniquely Detroit feature story in the video player above.

If you need directions on how to find Ima Detroit, they go something like this: Head to Michigan Avenue in the citys Corktown area. Yes, the one near the Michigan Central Station in the distance and narrow Victorian houses all about. Read all about it here. Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

After Michigan Central Station shuttered in 1988, the building became a gold mine for scrappers and other thieves.

After Michigan Central Station shuttered in 1988, the building became a gold mine for scrappers and other thieves.