The transfer of title did, however, contain a "reverter clause." The gift included the condition that, should the property no longer be used for the designated purpose, it would revert to the Fords, or their heirs.

So, a huge veterans hospital was built on the property. It opened in 1939 and operated for more than half a century, eventually expanding into a complex of 22 buildings sprawling over most of the farm-sized parcel of land. Finally, in June 1996, the facility, deemed outdated and impractical to renovate, was shut down. Veterans' health care services—with the exception of a two-days-per-week walk-in clinic that continued to operate in a small annex--were transferred to a brand new facility nearDowntown Detroit.

Now Ford would like to tear the landmark hospital down, cap an adjacent clay mine it owns and close a landfill to release 300 acres of developable land, according to Guy Snyder of the Great Lakes Construction Alliance.

The automaker wants to use about $31 million in brownfield redevelopment money from the state, with the city's permission, to tear down and clean the site, Snyder says.

"The parcel would be the largest in the city, representing about 8% of the entire city's area," Snyder says.