Planning commission OK's Ford plant demolition

Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant Tour
Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant along the Mississippi River in the Highland Park neighborhood in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011.
MPR Photo/Jennifer Simonson

The city's planning commission Friday signed off on a demolition plan for the site of the Ford plant.

Ford will remove all the structures on its 122-acre site in St. Paul's Highland Park and prepare the property for redevelopment. The nearly century-old plant closed a year ago.

Ford worked closely with St. Paul to make sure traffic, erosion and noise are mitigated during the multi-year project, said Merritt Clapp-Smith, a senior city planner.

"This decommissioning project is a big project, but the city and the mayor are really excited to see Ford taking this next step," Clapp-Smith said. "It was a loss to the community and the region when the plant was closed and all of those jobs were lost. But it's time to turn the page and go to the next chapter. This is Ford's work to turn that page and get the site ready for its rebirth."

Ford hopes to begin marketing the property in 2015 or 2016.

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