Why Cherry Hill Village's Arts Building Gave Up the Word "Factory"

Why would an arts center that spent six years building a following as the Village Arts Factory change its name in the middle of 2026? The answer is the building next door. Canton Township has restored the original Henry Ford plant at Cherry Hill and Ridge roads, and it will open as The Factory. The arts building at 50755 Cherry Hill Road is now the Arts Warehouse at Cherry Hill.

The rename is more than new signage. Until now, the old Ford campus in Cherry Hill Village had one public building. Soon it will have two, each with a different owner and a different job. The fall calendar already sends people along Cherry Hill Road from one end of the village to the other.

A plant that ran for about a year

The Factory has an unusually short industrial history. According to The Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company opened its Cherry Hill plant in 1944. Many of its workers were veterans disabled in World War II, and they made radiator petcocks and ignition locks for Ford vehicles. An on-site dormitory gave room and board to about 20 residents. The plant closed in 1945, and most of its employees moved to other Ford facilities.

The Arts Warehouse's own history calls the site Henry Ford's "final and most distinctive village industry." It says the factory and the veterans' dormitory next to it are both contributing resources in the National Register-listed Cherry Hill Historic District, and that both later stood vacant for more than a decade.

The revival took about 20 years, in stages:

• 2004: The Village Theater opens. Then-Township Supervisor Tom Yack proposes turning the abandoned industrial property nearby into an arts destination modeled on the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia.
• 2012: The Partnership for the Arts & Humanities buys the 14-acre property.
• 2019: Renovation of the 17,500-square-foot warehouse begins.
• March 2020: The arts complex opens to the public.
• Late 2023: Canton Township buys the campus. The Partnership keeps managing the arts building.

For the past six years, then, the "Factory" most people visited was the warehouse building. The original factory sat next door, waiting for its own renovation.

Why the name moved

The Partnership announced the change on August 11, 2026. It said the new name "honors the building's original purpose as a warehouse while giving this special space a clear identity of its own." The same announcement described what is happening next door:

"Next door, renovations to the original Henry Ford factory building are nearly complete. Owned and operated by Canton Township, this beautifully restored, state-of-the-art community center will be known as: THE FACTORY"

The two buildings "will be operated independently," the Partnership wrote, but will work as "complementary spaces." The Partnership also plans to bring new community arts programs and events to The Factory while it keeps running the Arts Warehouse.

Canton Township's announcement describes The Factory at 50625 Cherry Hill Road as a historic two-story building with 6,400 square feet, multipurpose rooms, a kitchen, and flexible event and meeting space. The township plans daily programs there for teens and therapeutic recreation participants, plus room for community use. That changes the mix of people coming into the village. Until now, Cherry Hill Village has mostly drawn people for a show or a class. The Factory adds a reason to show up on an ordinary weekday afternoon.

The building is not open yet. The township's September 2 notice said open houses were planned for September if final construction went as planned, and that dates and times had not been set. The Cherry Hill Village District newsletter posted October 6 said the Factory Building is "very close to opening," with final work and inspections wrapping up, and asked readers to "stay tuned for an opening announcement." For updates, the township lists 734/394-5360.

What the Arts Warehouse already holds

The renamed building is already full. The Arts Warehouse tenant roster lists 12 resident businesses and studios:

• Jump-A-Rama
• Thrive Pilates & Fitness
• D & M Art Studio
• Wild Wolf Coffee
• Cherry Hill Potters Guild
• Cookies & More
• Blue Lilac Skincare
• Rooted Vision Photography
• Artful Gatherings
• True 2 You
• AP3D Print Shop
• Reigning Motion Dance Company

The tenants offer gymnastics, fitness and adaptive classes, Pilates, pottery classes and exhibitions, cookie workshops, art workshops for adults and middle schoolers, preschool art, candle-making, and dance. Each tenant sets its own class times and hours, so the building has no single master schedule.

Artful Gatherings shows how the building reaches past the village. It is the studio of artist Madhurima Ganguly, who runs monthly workshops there, mostly for adults. This summer, Canton unveiled her new mural at Independence Park, at Denton and Proctor roads. It is painted on the outside wall of a permanent restroom building and features words by UK-based poet James McInerney, through the township's partnership with the Poetry Project.

This fall's calendar already runs the length of the road

The Factory adds a second public building at the Ridge Road end of the village. Even before it opens, the fall events treat Cherry Hill Road as one stretch, with the Arts Warehouse at one end, the Village Theater in the middle, and Saj Bakery and Greenland Market as another stop.

The clearest example is Scary Hill Village: Kids' Halloween Stroll on Saturday, October 24, from 3 to 7 p.m. Kids can start at either the Arts Warehouse or Saj Bakery/Greenland Market and trick-or-treat along Cherry Hill Road between the two. Inside the Arts Warehouse, they go from studio to studio. This year adds a Best Decorated Stroller or Wagon Competition, with winners chosen by popular vote after the event. Adults only need to register if they are collecting treats. No tickets will be sold at the door.

Here is what remains on the calendar along this stretch from the township's and the district's published schedules:

The Village Theater is at 50400 Cherry Hill Road, according to the township's season announcement, which also lists a New Year's Eve performance by the Circus of Detroit with a kid-friendly countdown. On Monday evenings from 5 to 7 p.m. through December, the Arts Warehouse also hosts a Collage Club.

Winterfest uses the most of the village. On December 5, events are spread across the fountain, Greenland Market & Saj Cafe, Indigo Salon, and the Arts Warehouse.

The pieces still being finished

The Factory is not the only project still underway. The October district newsletter reports that work continues at Town Square Park, where earthwork is moving along and "the footprint of the new park" is starting to take shape.

Smaller businesses are filling in too. The same newsletter names TrueCare RX Pharmacy as the village's newest business, now open inside Greenland Market, with one-on-one pharmacist consultations, prescription filling, and free same-day delivery. It also lists Game Day Social Sports Bar events, including Pumpkins on the Patio on October 21 from 4:30 to 9 p.m.

None of the sources gives an opening date for The Factory or a finish date for Town Square Park. What they confirm is that the Arts Warehouse is open and full, the Village Theater's season runs through New Year's Eve, and the restored 1944 Ford building at Cherry Hill and Ridge is waiting on final inspections.

Brad Jordan of Realty Experts LLC keeps track of changes like this across Canton and the rest of Southeast Michigan, from new community buildings to the small businesses that open next to them. If you'd like to talk through how projects like The Factory and Town Square Park fit into your own plans in Canton, Work With Brad.