Ford Renovates Product Development Center in Dearborn To Create 3.3 Million Square Foot Campus by 2029

Ford Motor Co. plans to renovate its Product Development Center in Dearborn, Michigan. The company scrapped plans to demolish the building. Instead, workers will transform it into a 3.3-million-square-foot campus called World Headquarters South that can house up to 11,000 employees. Completion is set for early 2029, and the approach will save 45% to 50% compared to constructing a new building.

Ford revealed the project in April 2026 after abandoning earlier demolition plans. A skywalk will link the renovated structure to the new World Headquarters, placing 15,000 to 20,000 workers within walking distance of one another.

"We're not going to demo a building and then start all over, ground up, and everything else," said Jim Dobleske, CEO of Ford Land, to the Detroit Free Press. "There's a lot of capital associated with that. This will allow us to get even more results by leveraging the existing facility, and some of the great spaces, I'll call it the great framework of spaces, that we have."

Crews will gut the interior and install skylights, and natural light will pour in. Open workspaces will replace old offices, and new technology will be added throughout. A 60,000-square-foot garage beneath the building stays put for vehicle testing and development.

World Headquarters South will house Ford Racing, the company's race car division, which currently sits outside the main campus. Workers in the Dearborn area—about 24,000 people—will also get access to a 30,000 to 40,000-square-foot fitness center.

Phase one construction starts in the second quarter of 2026. Workers should finish by late 2027 or early 2028. Phase two is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2029. A new parking structure will provide 3,100 to 3,500 stalls.

"By transforming our historic Dearborn campus, we're creating a more integrated and flexible workspace to support the future of Ford and our employees," said Jim Farley, CEO.

The company began moving employees into the new 2.1-million-square-foot World Headquarters building in December 2025. That structure houses about 2,500 workers now, with one section scheduled for completion in 2027.

"We'll have roughly between 10,000 to 11,000 people sitting in that World Headquarters complex," Dobleske said. "That's a game changer for us."