How to Get to the Detroit NEXUS Enrollment Center from the US Side?
 

I was not planning on renting a car when I travel to Detroit. When I booked my enrollment appointment, I received a set of directions to the center, but they are all written as though one is arriving by car. I assumed that there would be some sort of pedestrian access to the building, but after looking at aerial images, the building looks like it's in the middle of processing lanes and Ambassador Bridge access roads. Does anyone know if there's a way to walk to the building?

Thank you for your response. Yes, it is for NEXUS. I don't live anywhere near a border and I was going to be in downtown Detroit for a trip, so I decided to take advantage of that to schedule my interview. I assumed that the facility would be pedestrian accessible since it is near a major city's downtown. I will just call the office and ask. Otherwise, I will take a taxi and have them wait outside. I doubt I could hail a cab/rideshare from the building itself since it seems to be within a compound.

Yeah, you would think so. Good luck calling the office. If someone answers the phone AND they're helpful (I've had trouble with both in that office), I'd be interested to know what they say.

Taking a taxi and having them wait is probably your best bet. To help you get there successfully, here is an excerpt from a post I made in 2012:

Here are coordinates of the "service drive". Take care not to miss it, or you will be crossing the bridge to Canada!

Here are coordinates for the entrance to the NEXUS office.

Getting out of the compound is just about as tricky as getting in. First you have to backtrack out of the parking lot and go around the building to the truck exit. Here you (or the driver) will hand the officer a piece of paper that the officers inside the enrollment office will give you that says you've been "released from NEXUS/FAST office" (assuming the procedure is still the same as it was in 2013). Note that the booths at the exit gate are at a height corresponding to the height of semi-truck cabs, so you (or the driver) might have to get out of the car in order to be able to reach high enough to hand the paper to the officer.

After passing the truck exit, make sure to go to the left at the split ahead, otherwise you will end up circling around inside the compound again!

Thank you for the detailed instructions! I appreciate the time and effort you put into this!

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You can drive to the US Enrollment Center without needing to cross the border.
When you schedule an appointment you will also get direction instructions from the confirmation.
If you put ‘Detroit Enrollment Center FAST NEXUS Trusted Traveller Program’ in the WAZE app it takes to the place.
If you are coming by I-75, just need to take Exit 47-B and be prepared to take left under a ramp much before the Ambassador bridge.
You will see signs such as ‘Bridge to Canada’ and or ‘No-entry to USA’, please don’t panic and be prepared to take left once you take exit 47B from I-75 the blue sign says ‘Enrollment Center.’
After you take that left, you will approach officers, follow their instructions.
Park near the enrollment building.

Once your interview is done, it is equally hard to get out of the place back to wherever you came from.
Basically, you will back-track a bit and go around to the east side of the building where you will see semi trucks exiting. The right most lane with the officer booth is closest to the Enrollment Center building, exit through that lane and when the officer asks you just let them know why you were there and follow their instructions to exit. Take one of the left lanes to exit.
Remember these exit lanes are for Truck so the officer window will be higher than usual and if asked you might need to get out of the car and show the Interview Confirmation.

I hope this helps.

Does anyone have any more recent experiences, or know for a fact whether or not they have a procedure to allow pedestrians to walkup?

Has anyone used Uber or Lyft to get there?

That's good to hear! Are you a local? If you're familiar with the area, I have a couple questions for you.

I live on the East Coast, but I'm making a little trip out of this. There are a couple other travel related things I wanted to do sometime, so I'm working them into this interview. I'm flying into DTW and then leaving on Amtrak to Chicago after the interview, all on the same day. I scheduled the interview to leave myself a lot of leeway in case I arrive later than scheduled. If I arrive early, I'm hoping I can get right in. Last summer I took some of my children to Bowling Green (U.S. Customs House) in Lower Manhattan for their Global Entry interviews. We arrived several hours early, but they graciously got us in and out very quickly.

It appears that Detroit's public transportation is less than robust. Is the 261 bus the best way to get downtown from the airport? If I was flying out as well, I'd probably rent a car, but that's not feasible because I will not be returning to the airport.

Also, I'm assuming I won't need any more documentation for Nexus than for Global Entry. Is that correct? I'll take the standard passport/driver's license/birth certificate/utility bill with current address/maybe pay stub, just in case.

Why don't you just call the Detroit enrollment center and ask them?

Thank you for the suggestion! I actually didn't try calling because I've tried to call interview locations before and could never get anyone. I called today, and a very friendly officer answered. He confirmed that it is not possible to arrive on foot. He said you can use Uber, Lyft, or taxi if you don't have a car, but arrange for them to take you in, wait, and take you back out. He said the appointment won't take more than 5 or 10 minutes, so it works out well to wait.

Update: I had the Nexus interview in Detroit on Friday, June 9, 2023. I rented a car, as this also made it easier for the other things I wanted to do while I was there. The one day rental was very reasonably priced, and I probably would have spent about as much for Uber or taxi anyway.

I ended up changing my flight due to the smoke on the East Coast and arriving in Detroit early. I was able to change the time on my interview to a few hours earlier than originally scheduled.

The appointment took maybe 10 minutes total. About an hour later, the approval came through.