Ford Moving Its World Headquarters

I find this news to be a little sad actually.  You see, when I was the Ford National Dealer Council Chairman for two-years, I spent a lot of time at the Glass House.  Security was always tight getting in there and this was way before 9/11.  Let me just tell you that there were some REALLY nice offices at the top. These were reserved for the company’s most powerful executives. The executive suites were designed less like a corporate office and more like a private club, with walnut-paneled offices, leather-clad lounges, and a wood-lined boardroom equipped with then state-of-the-art projection and communications systems. The CEO’s office, most famously occupied by Henry Ford II was Jacque Nasser’s when I was there, and it was expansive and included adjoining conference and reception rooms, private bathrooms, and direct access to secretarial staff.

Executives also enjoyed a range of amenities that spoke to Ford’s dominance in the mid-20th century. A penthouse dining room hosted dignitaries, heads of state, and celebrities with gourmet meals and service provided by uniformed staff. Lounges, private bars, and entertainment suites gave the floor the atmosphere of an exclusive club, while a dedicated elevator connected the executive level directly to underground parking for quiet arrivals and departures. Together, the design underscored the prestige of Ford leadership and made the Glass House a symbol of corporate power as much as automotive innovation.  I was in awe the first time I was up there and remember my amazement of how many executives had their own dining rooms with their names on the door.

So, the news was bittersweet for me that Ford Motor Co. is preparing to leave behind one of the most recognizable buildings in the auto industry, announcing plans to move its headquarters from the glass-walled tower at 1 American Road in Dearborn to a new complex just a few miles away. The decision closes the book on nearly 70 years at the iconic “Glass House,” which opened in 1956 under Henry Ford II and has long symbolized the company’s industrial might.  Ford owns so much land and property there I’m not even sure they know what they have.  I spent a couple of hundred nights at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn, and yes Ford owned that, too.

The move is more than cosmetic. Executives said the new headquarters, opening in November 2025 on the site of Ford’s former Product Development Center, will better align with the way employees work today. The campus, to be called the Henry Ford II World Center, will include about 2.1 million square feet of space, almost twice that of the current headquarters, and is designed to put leadership, engineering, and design teams within closer reach of one another. The new address will retain the name “1 American Road,” a nod to the company’s past even as it looks forward.

Ford's current world headquarters. Credit: Ford.

Ford’s current headquarters building has become dated in both infrastructure and style. While its glass curtain walls made it an architectural landmark when it opened, the structure was built for a different era of corporate life, one dominated by corner offices and long corridors. Company officials say it no longer supports the collaboration needed to design electric vehicles, develop software and compete in a technology-driven marketplace.

The new Ford World Headquarters will include six design studios, more than 300 tech-enabled meeting rooms, a 160,000-square-foot food hall, wellness spaces and mothers’ rooms. The layout brings employees closer together, and the company says about 14,000 people will be able to move between buildings on campus within a 15-minute walk. The design reflects a shift in workplace culture that values common areas and green space as much as office capacity.

Executives say the decision is aimed at positioning Ford as an employer of choice at a time when competition for engineering and software talent is fierce. Creating spaces that encourage creativity and community, they argue, is just as important as investing in new drivetrains or production lines. In a statement, the company emphasized that the new campus will support collaboration while giving employees more flexibility and modern amenities.

For Dearborn, the move represents both continuity and change. The Glass House will remain standing until at least 2027, when demolition is expected to begin. Ford has not announced what will replace it, but the land will stay under company ownership. The original building will always hold a place in history as the stage for decades of board meetings, product announcements and decisions that shaped the global auto industry.

By moving to a campus built for the future, Ford is signaling its intent to evolve beyond its legacy as a traditional automaker. The new headquarters is designed around electrification, software development and connected mobility, the areas executives say will define the company’s next century. In the process, it also underscores Ford’s continued commitment to Dearborn, the city where the company was founded more than 120 years ago and where it plans to remain.

For longtime employees, the departure will be bittersweet. The Glass House has served as both a workplace and a landmark visible for miles, its transparent facade meant to embody openness at a time when Ford sought to modernize after World War II. But for new generations, the headquarters that opens in late 2025 will be the building they remember—one where past and future intersect, and where the address of American Road carries a new meaning.