Administration building at Ford’s Model T plant in Highland Park is for sale

The headquarters for the birthplace of the assembly line is for sale.

DBusiness Magazine is reporting that the Ford Sales and Service building, adjacent to the legendary Ford Highland Park Plant, is being sold through Plante Moran REIA. There is no sale price listed, though it was last purchased in 2013 for $550,000.

The Albert Kahn–designed Sales and Service building is 54,000 square feet and four stories. It has been owned by the Woodward Avenue Action Association which, the president of Plante Moran REIA told DBusiness, bought the building in order to preserve it.

There have been attempts over the years to restore the manufacturing complex, but none have been successful. According to DBusiness, the brochure for the sale states that...

the building’s ground floor can be used as an office and museum space, with office space on the upper three floors. An adjoining building could be used as classroom, training, or event space. Potential tenants include businesses, a museum, retail, and educational activities.

The plant itself, which opened on January 1, 1910, became the standard for industrial design for decades to come. Many innovations took place there, including the assembly line, $5-a-day wage, and construction of the Model T.

In addition, the wide spacing of columns and plentiful windows at the “Crystal Palace” made it a much more pleasant working environment than previous manufacturing plants.