Image by Darcy Lawry
City officials in Detroit have unveiled a $50-million redevelopment plan to transform the long-abandoned Packard Automotive Plant into a multi-use district featuring the forthcoming Museum of Detroit Electronic Music (MODEM). Once a defining symbol of the city’s post-industrial decline, the site is poised for a new chapter that embraces Detroit’s cultural legacy while advancing community-focused development.
The East Side complex, designed by renowned architect Albert Kahn, has sat largely unused since car production ended in 1958. In the 1990s, however, the structure briefly reclaimed its relevance as a nucleus of underground culture, hosting Richie Hawtin’s famed Spastik warehouse parties and the celebrated DJ Godfather vs. Gary Chandler battle — events that cemented the plant’s place in Detroit’s electronic music history.
Over the past decade, the ruins have served as a backdrop for film and television, including entries in Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise, the 2014 horror film It Follows, and the video for Eminem’s 2009 single ‘Beautiful’. In 2015, a mural attributed to Banksy, titled I Remember When All This Was Trees, was discovered inside and later auctioned for $137,500.
In a December 1 announcement, Mayor Mark Duggan detailed plans to convert the 28-acre southern half of the site into a mixed-use environment featuring housing, an indoor skatepark, two acres of public space, recreation zones and MODEM, a permanent institution honouring Detroit’s foundational role in the evolution of electronic music. “It took an incredible amount of work to gain title to the property and tear down everything that could not be saved in hopes for a day like this,” Duggan noted.
Incoming Mayor Mary Sheffield also endorsed the redevelopment, calling it a testament to sustained civic collaboration. “For more than 60 years, this site sat idle. Today, we declare that those days are over,” she wrote. “This is how we honour our past while building our future — by preserving history, creating jobs, expanding housing, and investing in culture and community all at once.”
Plans also include a 393,000-square-foot Class-A industrial facility projected to generate 300 jobs. Pending approval, work is expected to conclude in 2029, marking a substantial reinvention of one of Detroit’s most storied landmarks.
