Ford Motor Company not selling Windsor Engine Plant property

The Ford Motor Company of Canada is not selling some of its industrial properties in Windsor.

The company listed the Windsor Engine Plant and the nearby powerhouse property for sale in September 2021.

“Ford regularly reviews its global portfolio to ensure our campuses and facilities enable our business objectives. As the result of a recent review, the Windsor Engine Plant site and neighboring powerhouse are no longer for sale,” Ford Land spokesperson Gabrielle Poshaldo said in an e-mail. “There are no plans to reactivate the site at this time. The adjacent waterfront parcel was not part of the properties considered for sale.”

Unifor Local 200 president John D’Agnolo tells CTV News he’s “been arguing for years the importance of the plant.”

As for the decision from Ford to take it off the market, D’Agnolo says “I don’t know what that means but I will continue to ask to use the plant.”

D’Agnolo explains why it’s important.

“It’s an existing build ready to be moved into and cheaper to keep it when you consider the impact inflation has had on land and building costs,” says D’Agnolo.

D’Agnolo hopes it means the Ford is going to bring more investment to the city.

“There is plenty of room on the site for more growth after the foundry operation ceased operation and was demolished.”

“The property is in a good location to the border crossing as there are trailer loading docks and access to a rail line into the site.”

Ford ended production at the Windsor Engine plant in 2018. The 1.3-million-square-foot facility at 1000 Henry Ford Centre Drive has been vacant since that time. The powerhouse property at Riverside Drive at and Drouillard Road closed in 2007.