Packard Automotive Plant. Trees growing on the roof of the old abandoned Packard Automotive Plant, Detroit, Michigan, USA. Opened in 1903, this 3.5 million square foot plant was where luxury cars where made by the Packard Motor Car Company and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. It employed 40,000 workers before closing in 1958. Peruvian developer Fernando Palazuelo bought the property in 2013, promising a $300 million renovation, but progress has been slow. Photographed in 2019.