Michigan Central Station neighbor wants to compete with the coasts for startups

| BY KURT NAGL AND KIRK PINHO

Detroit’s ambition to be a mobility tech hub is taking a big step forward with a new operator for the former Book Depository building that is looking to give the coasts a run for their startup money.

Brooklyn-based Newlab will oversee activity within Newlab at Michigan Central, as the redeveloped 270,000-square-foot building next to Michigan Central Station in Corktown will now be known.

Newlab co-founder David Belt said the Ford Motor Co.-owned campus has already made progress in becoming a new haunt for startups otherwise pulled to places like Silicon Valley and Austin, Texas.

O cials from Ford, Michigan Central and Newlab