Ford, our oldest client and one of America’s top electric vehicle brands, recently awarded SSOE the design of a new assembly plant—named the Tennessee Electric Vehicle Center, part of Ford’s BlueOval City manufacturing complex—which resides on the West Tennessee Regional Megasite. This exciting new complex will become a vertically integrated ecosystem where Ford will assemble its next electric truck and batteries for future Ford and Lincoln vehicles.
Together with Walbridge as our construction partner, we’re executing the project under a design / build contract. In addition to the 4 million SF building design, we’ve been chosen as the engineer of record for the entire site design of the 4,000-acre mega campus. Our full scope of work includes preconstruction documents and detailed engineering as well as construction administration. Our team used the most innovative technology available to provide regular updates throughout the design process, with major deliverables scheduled out in advance for reviews and contractor use.
At its peak, SSOE assembled a dedicated team of more than 60 full-time employees to support the detailed design phase of the project. A project win for SSOE in several ways, this complex will also significantly support electric vehicle production in the Southeast U.S. and create close to 6,000 new jobs in Tennessee. Groundbreaking took place in May 2022 and Ford plans to begin production at BlueOval City in 2025.
On-Site and Full Circle
Our work on the West Tennessee Regional Megasite—formerly known as the Memphis Regional Megasite—actually dates back to 2007. SSOE worked with the State of Tennessee to develop the site and provided ongoing support as potential clients evaluated it. We were also involved with water and wastewater infrastructure projects specific to the site for over a decade. Worthy of note, SSOE provided the civil design of Ford’s BlueOval roundabout, an idea we presented to the client that makes Ford’s signature emblem shape—originally used to advertise Ford as the “hallmark for reliability and economy”—visible from the air.
