The American Center for Mobility (ACM) is now operating at the former Willow Run industrial site, according to an April 8 report. The facility, located in Ypsilanti Township, was once used to build B-24 bomber planes during World War II and later housed a General Motors manufacturing plant until its closure in 2009.
The transformation of the site reflects ongoing changes in Southeast Michigan’s economy and industry focus. After General Motors closed its plant, local employment declined sharply and the property faced contamination issues. Instead of leaving it unused or simply remediating it for resale, a coalition including Ann Arbor SPARK, state and local government leaders, university researchers, and industry partners decided to repurpose the land as a mobility testing center.
Paul Krutko, President and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, was involved from the beginning. As autonomous and connected vehicles became more important to the automotive industry, there was growing demand for larger testing facilities than those already available. ACM opened in 2017 on the brownfield site with infrastructure such as a full test track that incorporates real highways—features considered valuable by vehicle developers.
Reuben Sarkar, President and CEO of ACM, said ACM functions as “a global development center” where companies can share resources instead of building their own costly infrastructure. “If every company out there tried to rebuild all this, it’s just a lot of wasted money,” Sarkar said. “We’d rather have them share the infrastructure and the expense and focus on their product development.” The facility supports not only connected and autonomous vehicles but also electric vehicle charging systems, cybersecurity solutions, robotics applications—including startups testing inspection robots—and even autonomous groundskeeping equipment.
Michigan offers grant programs designed to help companies fund their use of state-designated testing sites like ACM. Sarkar explained that arrangements at ACM are flexible: “There is a model that fits almost everybody here.” Over time nearly 100 people have worked onsite between staff members and resident tenants; approximately 50,000 visitors have passed through over five years.
Ann Arbor SPARK continues its involvement beyond initial development—SPARK’s CFO serves as ACM’s CFO while Krutko sits on ACM’s board as treasurer. This partnership connects regional stakeholders with new customers for both organizations.
Sarkar noted recent growth: “When people are validating things we know that they are getting ready to go to market… When they’re validating something it usually means they’re getting ready to launch new products.” He added that after previous slowdowns in autonomous vehicle timelines across the industry demand has picked up again; commercial sales reached record levels in 2025 with further growth expected this year.
