Assembly Plant Partners includes local designers and artists Gerard Howland and Ethan Silva, best known for creating the giant Coke bottle in Pac Bell Park. Silva says work on the historic plant will begin immediately and should be completed by the end of 2003.

The project is being financed by public and private funds. It will be used to house artists who create and fabricate sets, scenery, props, exhibits, displays and related promotional materials for arts and entertainment purposes. It also will include an interactive museum featuring entertainment props, a theater for original productions, meetings and parties, a cafe and a visitor's center.

In addition to being a Ford assembly plant, the facility was used during World War II to manufacture tanks. It is located in the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historic Park and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.