Earlier this year, it became clear that something was stirring at 1400 Rosa Parks in Corktown. After a decade of neglect, the abandoned industrial building was being whipped into shape. A huge amount of graffiti was gone, the landscaping tidied up, and the front entrance un-barricaded. Now we know why.
Later today, Mayor Duggan is expected to announce that the building will be home to the American Lightweight Metals Manufacturing Innovation Institute (ALMMII), one of four manufacturing research hubs created by President Obama earlier this year. The $148M organization was originally planning to open in Canton, but Duggan apparently convinced them that Corktown’s barbecue beats Canton’s Swedish meatballs any day, even if it means moving into a building that was abandoned in 2001. We have to agree.
With ALMMII, PonyRide, and the future Quicken Loans Tech Center as an anchor, perhaps Corktown’s momentum is beginning to spill over into the West Side Industrial neighborhood.
