Correction: Plymouth Road Office Complex still in use
Last week, two sources claimed that the Plymouth Road Office Complex (PROC), currently home to part of Jeep/Truck Engineering, was being vacated, after over 80 continuous years of use by Kelvinator (as an appliance factory), AMC, and Chrysler.
This turned out to be wrong – the second time in a brief period such disinformation has been provided.
While the complex may be living on borrowed time, it seems that no immediate notices have been given to employees. Allpar apologizes for the error and will put more time into verification of information in the future.
The picturesque complex in an unsavory section of Detroit has multiple buildings, with 1.5 million square feet of space on 50 acres; that includes 370,000 square feet of R&D space, 500,000 square feet of engineering/computer room space, warehousing, and administrative/office space. The complex also has a health activity center, auditorium, and cafeteria.
The PROC on 14250 Plymouth Road was first put up for sale in 2007 and is still apparently on the market with an asking price of $10 million.
Development of various Jeeps (excluding the Patriot/Compass) and the Dodge Ram and Durango was centered at PROC. In 2007, over 1,600 people worked in the complex (down from 1,900 in 2005).
PROC was built in 1926, to make Kelvinator refrigerators. In 1937, when Nash and Kelvinator merged, the combined company’s headquarters was in the main building. Hundreds of helicopters were made there during World War II. In 1954, when Hudson and Nash merged, PROC became AMC’s headquarters, until 1987, when AMC was purchased by Chrysler. At that point, PROC became the central engineering location for all corporate trucks and SUVs, a position it held until now.
Photos are courtesy of Carolyn Allmacher, who took them in October 2008.
