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DETROIT (AP) – Ford Motor Co. announced on Friday Google He joins the automaker’s efforts to transform the once-ruined Detroit train station into a research center focused on electric and self-driving vehicles.

Also, Detroit and the state of Michigan agreed to provide infrastructure and other support for the Michigan Central Innovation District, which will include the defunct train depot and other nearby buildings in the historic Corktown neighborhood just outside of downtown, Ford aforementioned.

“his arrival Google As a co-founder, it is the kind of investment and progress that I know is possible to revitalize our country.” Ford Motor Co. Executive Chair Bill Ford said in a post. “And I couldn’t be more pleased with the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan joins us in this ambitious effort.”

Ford It announced plans for the Michigan Central Innovation District in 2018, shortly after purchasing the 18-story, 500,000 square feet (46,450 square meters) train depot. Renovations to the more than century-old Michigan Central Station could be completed next year. Ford Motor Company. Fund President Mary Culler told the Associated Press. Ford there it plans to research, test and launch new mobility solutions.

Towering above Corktown, the station has stood empty and iconic since the last train left in 1988. DetroitIt’s a long run from America’s power plant to the biggest municipal bankruptcy.

“Now, the symbol of the resurrection of our city” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a news release: “Soon will anchor this new innovation zone developed by Fordwhere innovators from around the world will create the future of mobility.”

The state will provide more than $126 million in programming and resources, including infrastructure. The Michigan-based Dearborn automaker said Duggan’s office is working to designate a Transportation Innovation District in the area to make it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs to safely launch and test projects.

GoogleIt will open a 30-acre (12-hectare) lab in Michigan to teach computer science to high school students, with more than 600 employees. Googlerole includes a certification program.

“This is a partnership. Google to educate people and Ford Obviously, our future state would accept people with this type of certification,” Culler said, noting that people would not need a college degree.

GoogleChief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said her work entails ensuring that people have the digital skills and coaching they need to be successful.

“Michigan has been at the forefront of the industrial revolution,” Porat said. “The world is now in the midst of a digital revolution, and Michigan is front and center in tackling the big issues of the day. We think it’s the right time and the right place to really create these kinds of digital skills efforts.”

The auto industry as a whole is moving towards more fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems, more autonomous driving features and more connectivity in vehicles.

Michigan Central Station opened in 1913 and has been a gem for decades. Detroit and the center of urban and extra-urban rail transport. DetroitVehicles built – along with air travel – have proven to be part of its retrieval.

Invoice Ford Billionaire Manuel “Matty” Moroun didn’t say how much it cost to buy the train station or how much the automaker expects to spend to repair it, but the company said the total investment for the station and surrounding region is about $950 million.

The company wants the innovation zone to be a big part of where the city goes from here.

“Innovation nurtures innovation,” Culler said. “The more we get on the front row of this innovation and see what others are doing, the more it will raise everyone’s game. I think it will change the game for the city, state and territory.”