History of the Ford Factory Site

If you’re located in the Twin Cities, chances are you’ve heard of the Ford Redevelopment Site, or Highland Bridge Development in St. Paul. Highland Bridge is planned for over 3,000 housing units with retail space, office space, and over 50 acres of parks and open space.

The 122-acre site was vacated by Ford in 2011 and the redevelopment has been a debate from then on, until 2019 when St. Paul approved development plans for the site.

There’s always debate over redevelopment, and this the largest vacant tract of land in Saint Paul. Of course the redevelopment was going to be a debate over what to do with it. But did you know that planning around the site has been a little contentious, even before the factory was built?

It was a prime site in the early 1920’s. The vacant site was next to the river, the middle of the cities and surrounded by other residential uses (such as Summit Avenue a few blocks away). The site was anticipated to be a high-income residential neighborhood. And then came Henry Ford, who was interested in the site due to the nearby hydropower dam which supplied the site with electricity and the ability to mine for sand to create glass

St. Paul had recently adopted their first zoning code in the 1920’s, which established the site as being a high-end residential neighborhood. Ford had to convince the City Planner (the city’s first!) that an industrial car plant would be harmonious with the surrounding neighborhood and development of the City. Somehow, mostly through buffering, Ford did just that. And the plant got built, turning the tract of land into a heavy industrial area for about the next 100 years.

Now, the site has gone full circle and is going to be a residential/mixed-use area (it just took 100 years to do it!)

Check out this documentary from TPT, Made in St. Paul: Stories from the Ford Plant for more interesting facts about the plant’s history!

-Jess