Menards wants piece of former Ford plant

Home improvement retailer Menards has approached the Ford Motor Co. about purchasing 46 acres of a former automobile factory, according to an article in The Detroit News.

Ford has approached the Wixom City Council with a request to split its property, located in the Metro Detroit area, so it can sell a portion to a “prospective purchaser.” Jeff Abbott, a Menards spokesman, told The Detroit News last week that the company is "working on a deal, but nothing has been finalized just yet."

Menards has announced its intention to enter the Detroit market in 2013 with four  stores.

The former Wixom Assembly Plant, closed in 2007, is a 317-acre site. Ford has already begun demolishing parts of the 4 million-sq.-ft. facility.