The Detroit Transportation Corporation is now leading the planning for a new transit hub at Michigan Central. The DTC, which owns and operates the People Mover, will issue a request for proposals for preliminary design and engineering studies this summer, Axios Detroit reported.
The transit hub has been on the table for years as a piece of the Michigan Central development in Corktown — the 30-acre Ford-backed project built around the historic train depot on Michigan Avenue. MDOT, the city of Detroit, and Michigan Central previously announced a plan to build the hub with about $40 million in funding drawn from a combination of federal, state, and local sources.
The shift to DTC leadership signals the project is moving out of the discussion phase. A spokesperson for the agency was direct about why the assignment landed there. "It was determined that DTC was uniquely positioned to lead this project as the local transit agency with years of expertise in rail construction and operations, station design, federal guideline adherence, placemaking, economic development, activations and events," Ericka Alexander told Axios in an email.
The project remains in early planning. No construction timeline has been set beyond the design phase, and the summer RFP covers preliminary design and engineering studies only. Public records obtained by Axios show earlier cost estimates for a broader conceptual vision in the $150 million to $212 million range. DTC said those figures reflect a scope larger than the current core project.
Michigan Central says the hub remains a priority. Beth Kmetz-Armitage, the organization's director of commercial development, told Axios the project fits a specific ambition. "The transit hub is integral to our vision for positioning Detroit as the international gateway for all of Michigan," she said. Michigan Central is providing consulting services for the project and working alongside DTC and other partners.
The history here is long. The last train out of Michigan Central left in 1988, bound for Chicago. At its peak in the 1940s, more than 4,000 passengers moved through the station daily. The building then sat vacant for decades before Ford acquired it and anchored the Corktown redevelopment around it. Adding Amtrak service and intercity bus service to the site has been discussed since at least last year, when state officials began exploring the option.
The transit hub, if built to the core plan, is meant to replace aging regional facilities and improve connections for a corridor that has been without intercity rail service for nearly four decades. The summer RFP for design and engineering will be the first concrete procurement step.
