Crain’s Detroit Business has reported that Bedrock Detroit and Related Companies are teaming to build a $300 million University of Michigan graduate school campus, designed by KPF.
Sited on a previously vacant lot, the new campus will reinvigorate the edge of downtown Detroit’s eastern gateway, at the intersection of Gratiot Avenue between I-375 and St. Antoine Street. The Detroit Center for Innovation will feature a 190,000-square-foot research and graduate education building for UM students in mobility, artificial intelligence, data science, entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, financial technology and more. The initial phase of the DCI build-out also will include incubator and start up services for entrepreneurs, collaboration space for established companies, residential units, a hotel and conference center and event space. Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock Detroit and Stephen Ross’ Related Companies will co-develop the rest of the 14-acre site to include include incubator and start up services for entrepreneurs, collaboration space for established companies, residential units, a hotel and conference center and event space.
On October 30th, the team of developers and government officials hosted a formal announcement of the project, gathering Chairman of Related Companies Stephen Ross, Bedrock CEO Matt Cullen, UM President Mark Schlissel, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, and Wayne County Executive Warren Evans. Jill Lerner, KPF Managing Principal, and Hana Kassem, KPF Design Principal, represented the firm. Their work on the project demonstrates KPF’s long-standing relationship with the university, which includes the design of the Ross School of Business, completed in three phases over the course of twelve years, as well as the recently completed Football Performance Center and ongoing design development of its athletic masterplan.
Read the full text of the Crain’s Detroit Business article here.