The developers proposed to redevelop the 23-acre, 561,000-sf Ford plant into a $58 million arts and entertainment complex, of which they would be anchor tenants. The building will be designed for arts and entertainment businesses and will feature art studios.

The city was motivated to find a developer quickly, as it has until the end of 2002 to use $15 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds on the historic Ford plant. The city originally started negotiations with Forest City, best known for the San Francisco Bloomingdale's project, to develop a $130 million "cybervillage", featuring office, live-work and retail space. However, the developer backed out of the project when an agreement could not be met with the city regarding the scope of the project.

Assembly Plant Partners was selected over two other developers, Richmond-based Orton Development and Canadian-based Truscan Development. Orton planned to build a $92 million commercial and residential complex, while Transcan planned a $150 million office and hotel space.