• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Ford’s New High-Tech Headquarters Will Take a Decade To Build

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 12, 2016, 1:26 PM ET
Rendering courtesy of Ford

Collaboration among Ford employees often requires jumping into a car and driving to one of the 70 company buildings spread throughout Dearborn, Mich. right now.

But the automaker unveiled plans on Tuesday to bring all of those employees to one high-tech campus, a visible symbol of Ford’s attempt to modernize and transition into a corporation that does more than make and sell cars.

The massive construction project, encompassing more than 7.5 million square feet of work space to be rebuilt and upgraded, will take a decade to complete. Once finished, all of Ford’s approximately 30,000 employees will be housed across two locations on one sprawling campus. That will consist of a product area to include a new design center and another section around the current Ford global headquarters. The campus will include all of the requisite features found on many Silicon Valley-based tech companies, such as walking paths and trails, on-demand shuttles, eBikes, wireless connectivity speeds up to 10 times faster than today, and even autonomous vehicles.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter about the business of technology.

Construction of the new product campus begins this month at the Ford Research and Engineering Center, which currently houses 12,000 employees. When complete, the center will accommodate 24,000 employees. The majority of work is expected to be complete by 2023, Ford says. Major work on the second campus around Ford World Headquarters will break ground in 2021 with a scheduled completion date in 2026.

A new 700,000-square-foot silver-domed design center will serve as the focal point of the campus, housing new studios and an outdoor design courtyard. Ford will upgrade its historic 14,000-square-foot Ford Design Showroom to be used as an event venue.

Ford CEO Mark Fields explains why the company is in Silicon Valley:

Ford visited Stanford University and the University of Michigan campuses as well as several tech companies, including Google, to study collaborative work spaces, Roger Gaudette, director of Dearborn facility strategy at Ford Land Development Co., told Fortune. Detroit-based architecture firm SmithGroupJJR designed the new campus layout.

The campus will also feature a sustainability showcase, a large glass circular structure that Gaudette touts will be a net zero-energy and net zero-water facility using geothermal heating and cooling as well as solar panels. Geothermal heating will also be deployed throughout the campus. The sustainability building could even double as a welcome center.

Ford’s core business is still making, financing, and servicing cars and trucks. Last year, the company introduced a so-called smart mobility strategy involving building cars with Internet connectivity, developing autonomous vehicle technology, and using big data collected from sensors in cars to learn more about how people travel.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
North America
'I meant what I said in Davos': Carney says he really is planning a Canada split with the U.S. along with 12 new trade deals
By Rob Gillies and The Associated PressJanuary 28, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The American taxpayer spent nearly half a billion dollars deploying federal troops to U.S. cities in 2025, CBO finds
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 28, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
Jeff Bezos capped his Amazon salary at $80,000: ‘How could I possibly need more incentive?’
By Sydney LakeJanuary 28, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
Fortune 500 CEOs are no longer giving employees an A for effort. Now they want proof of impact
By Claire ZillmanJanuary 28, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Jerome Powell got a direct question about the U.S. ‘losing credibility’ and the soaring price of gold and silver. He punted
By Eva RoytburgJanuary 29, 2026
23 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Thursday, January 29, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJanuary 29, 2026
23 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Latest in

Kevin Warsh, former governor of the US Federal Reserve, during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring meetings at the IMF headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, April 25, 2025.
EconomyFederal Reserve
Meet Trump’s next Fed Chair Kevin Warsh: He wants a back-seat central bank, a more bullish monetary policy, and for his dog to live a really long time
By Eleanor PringleJanuary 30, 2026
45 minutes ago
Personal FinanceSavings accounts
Today’s best high-yield savings account rates on Jan. 30, 2026: Earn up to 5.00% APY
By Glen Luke FlanaganJanuary 30, 2026
59 minutes ago
Personal FinanceCertificates of Deposit (CDs)
Best CD rates today, Jan. 30, 2026: Earn up to 4.18% APY if you lock in now
By Glen Luke FlanaganJanuary 30, 2026
59 minutes ago
taxi
Commentaryregulation
America’s AI regulatory patchwork is crushing startups and helping China
By James Richardson and Eric TanenblattJanuary 30, 2026
60 minutes ago
Photo of Elon Musk
NewslettersTerm Sheet
$100 million-plus funding rounds used to be incredibly rare. Now, 40% of seed and Series A rounds are clearing that bar
By Allie GarfinkleJanuary 30, 2026
1 hour ago
NewslettersFortune Tech
Apple delivers blowout earnings; gets bupkis
By Alexei OreskovicJanuary 30, 2026
2 hours ago