DETROIT, MI – The future University of Michigan Center for Innovation will break ground in Detroit in mid-December.
The ceremony launching the construction of the long-gestating $250-million project is set for 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14. University President Santa Ono, Board of Regents Chair Sarah Hubbard, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and other officials will speak at the event at 2121 Cass Ave. in the city, officials said.
This is the latest chapter in up-and-down journey for the project, as the former location for the innovation center was on the site of the former failed Wayne County Jail. That proposed $300-million project was abandoned in 2021.
Read more: New name, expanded goals ahead for University of Michigan’s Detroit Center for Innovation
University regents approved resolutions making the latest project possible at their Oct. 19 board meeting in Flint. Those resolutions approved a $100-million donation from donor Stephen Ross, a two-acre donation at Grand River Avenue and West Columbia Street in Detroit, a purchase of another acre nearby and the hiring of an architectural firm to design the building.
The rest of the $250 million is coming from $100 million from the state of Michigan and $50 million to be raised from donors, university Chief Financial Officer Geoffrey Chatas said in October.
Read more: $250M University of Michigan Center for Innovation cleared for construction
The building is intended to be six stories tall, officials said. The $10-million land purchase is for a nearby parking structure, which Hubbard said in October will be essential to support the innovation complex’s future community.
The innovation complex is part of a $1.5-billion project to renovate The District Detroit, led by Ross and the Ilitch family. Ross is a top donor for the university, having donated $460 million, officials said.
The center intends to meet economic development goals for Detroit, as well as statewide and regional job creation. There will be graduate programs focused on technology, robotics, sustainability and computer sciences, as well as workforce training, professional development and certificate programs, officials said.
The center eventually will collaborate with Detroit partners located at the Rackham Educational Memorial building in Midtown, officials said. The Rackham complex is near the Detroit Institute of Arts, Wayne State University and the Detroit Public Library, which makes it ideal for educational opportunities, officials said.
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