This
artist’s
rendering
shows
the
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation,
which
will now
be built
in The
District
Detroit.
(Image
courtesy
of Kohn
Pedersen
Fox
Associates) |
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Detroit
Center
for
Innovation
to be
built in
The
District
Detroit
Byline:
record.umich.edu
DETROIT
- The
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation,
a future
world-class
research
and
education
center
anchored
by the
University
of
Michigan,
will now
be built
in The
District
Detroit,
a
mixed-use
sports
and
entertainment
district
situated
between
the
city’s
downtown
and
Midtown.
As part
of the
three-building
DCI
development,
U-M will
operate
an
approximately
$300
million,
200,000-square-foot
center
focused
on
academic
programs
and
research
related
to
fields
in which
advanced
technology
is
increasingly
critical,
according
to the
Dec. 13
announcement.
The DCI
will
enhance
the
university’s
ability
to drive
innovation
across a
variety
of those
fields,
President
Mark
Schlissel
said.
The
center
is
unique
in that
it will
provide
a space
for the
university
to
engage
with
industry,
nonprofit
and
community
partners
to
develop
the most
relevant
academic
programs
and
identify
research
opportunities
of
mutual
interest
and
benefit,
Schlissel
said.
“We are
enthusiastic
about
what the
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation
will
mean for
the
city,
its
residents
and
businesses
and our
current
and
future
students,”
Schlissel
said.
“The
University
of
Michigan
is
already
setting
the
groundwork
for this
new
academic
center,
and we
look
forward
to
providing
the kind
of
advanced
educational
programs
that
will
meet the
needs of
an
evolving
workforce
and move
our
economy
forward.”
The DCI
will be
built on
what is
currently
a
three-acre,
development-ready
surface
parking
area
between
Cass and
Grand
River
avenues,
and
between
West
Columbia
Street
on the
north
and
Elizabeth
Street
on the
south.
In
addition
to the
academic
and
research
center,
the
development
also
will
include
a
technology
incubator
at 2115
Cass
Ave. and
a new
building
that
will
create
nearly
300
units of
student
and
faculty
housing
along
Cass
Avenue.
Partners
in the
center
include
the city
of
Detroit,
Related
Companies
and
Olympia
Development
of
Michigan,
an
Ilitch
company.
The DCI
research
and
education
center
is
seeded
by a
$100
million
donation
by real
estate
developer
and
alumnus
Stephen
M. Ross,
chairman
of
Related,
and a
land
contribution
by
Olympia
Development.
The
project’s
groundbreaking
is
expected
to occur
in the
next
18-24
months.
“The
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation
will
increase
access
to
opportunity
for
Detroiters,
help
nurture
and
retain
talent
and
drive
positive
social
and
economic
impacts
throughout
the
city,
region
and
state,”
said
Christopher
Ilitch,
president
and CEO
of
Ilitch
Holdings,
a
private
company
that
provides
professional
services
to
businesses
founded
or
purchased
by
Detroit
entrepreneurs
Mike and
Marian
Ilitch,
including
Olympia
Development.
“We look
forward
to
working
with
Stephen
Ross and
Related
Companies
—
leaders
in
creating
visionary
neighborhoods,
in
developing
affordable
housing,
and in
creating
unique
places
across
the
country
— along
with the
University
of
Michigan
to
support
the
growth
of the
DCI.”
U-M
Regent
and
Ilitch
family
member
Denise
Ilitch
announced
previously
that she
was
recusing
herself
from all
U-M
Board of
Regents
matters,
and not
participating
in any
discussions,
about
the DCI.
Center
adds to
university’s
growing
presence
in
Detroit
The
center,
which
initially
was to
be built
on the
former
Wayne
County
Jail
site on
Saint
Antoine
Street
in
Detroit,
will be
part of
the
university’s
growing
footprint
in and
around
Detroit,
where
the
university
was
founded
in 1817.
The
university’s
presence
in the
city
includes
the U-M
Detroit
Center
on
Woodward
Avenue,
a
“cradle
to
career”
P-20
collaboration
with the
Detroit
Public
Schools
Community
District
at
Marygrove
College
in
Northwest
Detroit,
and its
nearby
UM-Dearborn
campus.
The
Board of
Regents
voted
Dec. 9
to
approve
renovating
the
121,000-square-foot
Horace
H.
Rackham
Educational
Memorial
in
Midtown.
The $40
million
project
will
establish
the
building
as the
new home
to many
existing
U-M
initiatives
and
programs
in
Detroit.
The
university’s
Detroit-based
programs
and
functions
include
several
initiatives
designed
to serve
the city
and its
residents
through
education,
research
and
service.
They
include
a
dedicated
undergraduate
admissions
office,
the
Detroit
Community-Academic
Urban
Research
Center
and the
Partnership
on
Economic
Mobility,
a joint
effort
between
U-M’s
Poverty
Solutions
initiative
and the
city to
identify
and
implement
concrete,
evidence-based
strategies
that
improve
economic
opportunity
and
reduce
poverty
in
Detroit.
Hundreds
of
additional
partnerships
between
the
university
and
Detroiters
exist
throughout
the
city,
including
K-12
programs,
community-academic
research
projects,
business
engagement
initiatives,
and
collaborations
with
city
government
and
neighborhood
organizations.
The work
is
guided
by the
university’s
three
principles
for
community
and
civic
engagement:
Recognition
for the
expertise
and
knowledge
within
the
community.
Respect
for
individuals,
communities
and
their
resources.
Equitable
partnership
focused
on
reciprocal
relationships,
transparency
and
accountability.
Board of
Regents
Chair
Jordan
Acker,
in
noting
the
board’s
support
for the
project,
hailed
the
announcement
as a win
for both
the
university
and the
city.
“Our
students
will
have the
opportunity
to gain
the
unique
skills,
knowledge
and
experience
needed
to lead
the
tech-driven
economy
of the
future,”
Acker
said.
“And
Detroit,
as well
as the
wider
region,
will
soon be
able to
tap into
a new
talent
pipeline
tailored
to meet
the
needs of
the
local
economy.”
The DCI
is an
exciting
new step
in the
university’s
rich
history
of
partnership
and
progress
in
Detroit,
a city
known
for its
innovative
leaders,
Regent
Mark
Bernstein
said.
“From
Henry
Ford and
Berry
Gordy to
Mike
Ilitch
and
Stephen
Ross,
our city
and our
region
have a
long,
proud
history
of
entrepreneurship,”
Bernstein
said.
“The
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation
will
strengthen
this
entrepreneurial
ecosystem
so
future
generations
have the
skills
and
knowledge
to
better
our
city,
our
region,
and the
world.”
DCI to
offer
innovative
academic
experiences,
partnerships
While
the
university
will
provide
instruction
at the
DCI’s
academic
center,
degrees
and
certificates
will be
awarded
through
the Ann
Arbor
campus.
The
academic
center
is
designed
to serve
U-M
students
in the
last
year of
their
undergraduate
programs,
as well
as
students
seeking
graduate
degrees
or
certificates
that
indicate
completion
of
specified
programs
to learn
the
technology
and
other
skills
needed
to
advance
their
careers.
Artist's
rendering
of a
common
area
outside
the
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation.
The
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation
will
build on
Detroit’s
growing
presence
as a
center
for
innovation,
which
includes
Ford
Motor
Co.’s
new
Corktown
mobility
innovation
campus,
TechTown
Detroit
and
Wayne
State
University.
(Image
courtesy
of Kohn
Pedersen
Fox
Associates)
The
Detroit
Center
for
Innovation
Curriculum
Development
Committee,
a group
of 21
faculty
members
and
administrators
appointed
by
Schlissel
in 2020,
has
worked
to
formulate
curricula
that are
interdisciplinary,
flexible
and
focused
on the
emerging
needs of
the
Detroit
regional
economy.
When
opened,
the DCI
will
provide
Michigan
businesses
and
communities
with a
pipeline
of
talent,
and will
offer
opportunities
for
current
workers
to
further
their
skills
in a
world of
fast-paced
technological
change.
It also
will
build on
Detroit’s
growing
presence
as a
center
for
innovation,
which
includes
Ford
Motor
Co.’s
new
Corktown
mobility
innovation
campus,
TechTown
Detroit
and
Wayne
State
University.
The DCI
also
will
provide
additional
opportunities
for the
university
to
partner
with the
city and
its
residents
through
initiatives
like
project-based
learning
that
addresses
the real
needs of
the
community
and
youth-focused
enrichment
and
tutoring
programs
to
inspire
students
to
pursue
careers
in
science,
technology,
engineering
and math
fields.
U-M
officials
also
hope to
explore
future
programmatic
partnerships
with
Wayne
State.
The
academic
center
will be
designed
with
faculty
input
and will
give
faculty
and
students
the
opportunity
to
engage
in
interesting,
innovative
research
and
education
across
fields
where
advanced
technology
is
important.
Business
incubators,
research
and
development
and
collaboration
space
for
large
established
companies,
co-working
space,
and
startup
support
services
also
will be
available,
bringing
top
minds
from the
private
sector
together
with the
public
and
academic
sectors.
The
collaborative
approach
will
encourage
business
growth
in
Detroit
as
students
graduate
and
start
their
own
businesses
in the
area,
with
continued
support
from the
DCI.
“Partnership
is
essential
to so
much of
what we
do at
the
University
of
Michigan,
and in
that
regard,
this
project
is an
important
continuation
of the
work
we’re
already
doing in
cooperation
with the
city,
its
residents
and its
business
community,”
Regent
Sarah
Hubbard
said.
“Adapting
to the
economic
needs of
tomorrow
will be
essential
to the
success
of this
city and
our
state.
The
University
of
Michigan
is proud
to
leverage
its
academic
and
research
strengths
to help
meet
these
needs
and move
our
region
forward.”
As part
of the
Dec. 13
announcement,
Olympia
Development
and
Related
also
said
they are
exploring
additional
development
opportunities
in The
District
Detroit
that
will
amplify
the
positive
impact
of the
DCI.
These
development
opportunities
will
center
around a
purpose-driven
enterprise
committed
to
working
closely
with
local
Detroit
minority-
and
women-owned
businesses
in its
development
efforts.
Related
and
Olympia
will
focus on
job
creation
and
accelerating
community-minded
priority
developments,
including
affordable
housing,
preservation
and
adaptive
reuse of
existing
historic
buildings,
market-rate
housing,
sustainable
green
spaces
and
commercial
office,
retail
and
restaurants.
Jumpstarting
those
efforts,
California-based
software
company
ServiceNow
announced
that
Detroit
will be
a
strategic
growth
destination
as part
of its
four-year
growth
plan.
ServiceNow’s
plans
include:
Opening
a new
office
for its
engineering,
sales
and
finance
groups
that
will
anchor a
building
adjacent
to the
DCI.
Establishing
a
partnership
with U-M
and
Wayne
State to
support
prospective
talent
development.
Endowing
scholarships
for
engineering
and
computer
science
students
of color
at each
university,
and
committing
funding
and
talent
to
support
coding
curricula
for
local
middle
and high
school
students.
“As a
native
Detroiter,
I
believe
it is
critical
for the
DCI to
have a
catalytic
economic
and
social
impact
on the
people
of
Detroit,”
Ross
said.
“That
impact
will be
best
achieved
in The
District
Detroit
where it
will
connect
with
existing
density
and
ignite
additional
development,
driving
job
creation,
attracting
entrepreneurs
and
inspiring
the next
generation
of
trailblazing
talent —
beginning
with
ServiceNow.”
Gov.
Gretchen
Whitmer
noted
the DCI
and
surrounding
development
would
help
Michigan
address
some of
its most
pressing
challenges
and
opportunities.
“Michigan
is the
home of
opportunity,
and the
DCI will
provide
more
access
to
economic
growth
for
Detroiters
and
residents
across
our
state,”
Whitmer
said.
“This
unique
community-driven
development
will
catalyze
entrepreneurship,
attract
new
businesses
to
Michigan
and grow
our
state’s
world-class
workforce.”
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