GM Will Turn AMC’s Old Headquarters Site Into an EV Parts Warehouse

The automotive industry is returning to this long-dormant Detroit landmark.

_JamesGilboy

jamesgilboy

The America Motors Corporation's historic Detroit headquarters is no more; demolition has been underway since last Autumn to prep it for redevelopment. What will spring up on the cleared site is now known, too: It'll reportedly be home to a parts warehouse that General Motors will use for manufacturing electric vehicles.

This comes via Crain's Detroit Business, which reports the warehouse will directly support GM's Factory Zero—its EV plant several miles to the east. The 56-acre site will be home to a 793,520-square-foot warehouse that'll be operated by a third-party contractor, one associated with a major trucking company.

"The site, scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2024, will support the production of electric vehicles including the GMC Hummer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and Cruise Origin by optimizing the delivery, storage and processing of parts and products," a GM spokesperson told Crain's Detroit Business.

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Originally developed in 1927 by the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, the site was inherited by AMC after its 1954 merger with Hudson. AMC used the building at its headquarters until 1975, after which it became a Dodge and Jeep engineering center; it remained under Chrysler ownership until 2010. It was sold to a scrapper, gutted, and later foreclosed on in 2015. Demolition was underway as of last December, and is likely complete by now.

Although historically and architecturally significant, the unused building came to be seen as a blight after its ownership by the scrapper. Detroit's mayor described it as "ruin porn" in their pledge to redevelop the site. It's a boon for Detroit that the property is once again in use, but it's a shame it had to come at the expense of demolishing a historic building. Then again, its fate was sealed the second its old owners started pulling the copper from the walls. At least they did time for their crime.

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