Packard Automotive Plant and History

• The Packard Automotive Plant in Detroit, Michigan, was a major employer and production center for over 50 years.
• The plant was the main production facility for Packard Automotive, opening in 1903.
• Over time, the plant expanded to cover 40 acres, totaling 3.5 million square feet and stretching over half a mile long.
• The plant employed as many as 40,000 workers.
• Notable models produced included Packard's 4, 6, 8, and 12 cylinder models.
• Packard competed with Pierce Arrow and Peerless in the luxury car market during the early 1900s.
• Packard outlasted its main competitors, Pierce Arrow and Peerless.
• Cadillac and Lincoln became major competitors as the luxury car market changed.
• Packard adapted by producing lower-cost cars during the depression, while maintaining its Detroit plant as its sole assembly location, reducing expenses and boosting competitiveness.
• From 1942 to 1945, the plant manufactured plane and boat engines for World War II.
• Packard fell behind GM in design during the late 1940s.
• In 1950, Cadillac surpassed Packard as the top-selling luxury car company.
• Packard produced modern designs like the Packard Clipper and Packard Partition in an attempt to remain competitive.
• Increased competition, the purchase of Studebaker, and the lack of war production deals led to Packard's decline.
• In 1958, the Studebaker-Packard Corporation closed the plant.
• The merged company ceased operations eight years later.
• The Packard plant was used by various companies for storage.
• Unoccupied sections of the plant began to deteriorate, resulting in criminal activity.
• The city of Detroit planned to demolish the plant in the late 1990s, budgeting $4 million for the project.
• Demolition began in early 1999 but was halted due to a court order from the previous owners.
• The previous owners regained control by fulfilling unpaid tax obligations.
• By 2010, the plant was completely abandoned.

Decline and Abandonment

• The plant experienced vandalism, scrapping, and weathering due to abandonment.
• The plant became a symbol of Detroit's decline.
• In 2013, Fernando Palozello purchased the plant for just over $400,000, planning a mixed-use redevelopment.
• The redevelopment project never materialized.
• After seven years, the plant was put up for sale.
• The city seized and demolished small portions of the plant, but most of it remains.
• In 2019, the Packard plant bridge collapsed, symbolizing its decline.
• The cost of demolishing the complex and the abundance of vacant land in Detroit contribute to the uncertainty of its future.