Beaumont Health in Southfield today announced the acquisition of the First Center building in the same city to consolidate its shared services employees currently working in 16 different owned or leased buildings throughout metro Detroit.
Located at 26935 Northwestern Highway, just west of Lahser Road, the 686,000-square-foot facility will house 3,000 Beaumont employees by the end of 2018. The hospital network will maintain its overall headquarters at the Southfield Town Center.
Beaumont Health officials say they evaluated 45 metro Detroit properties before acquiring the First Center building, which was built in 1984 and sits on 31 acres of land. Beaumont will initially occupy 360,000 square feet of the building, and existing tenant leases will remain in place and be evaluated in the future.
The building will be renamed and branded as a Beaumont facility, along with existing tenant signage. A new Beaumont sign will be attached to the building in the coming days.
“This consolidation of our business services that support patient care is a major step forward in advancing our commitment to being the employer of choice,” says Carolyn Wilson, COO of Beaumont Health. “It will allow teams in separate locations to work together in an updated, collaborative space with amenities our employees want, promoting teamwork, while enhancing efficiency and reducing cost.
“It will also help free up much-needed space on our hospital campuses for patient care by pulling business and administrative professionals out of our inpatient settings.”
Beaumont’s financial services team will be the first to move to the First Center facility, relocating in early 2018 once building renovations are complete. Move in dates for other departments are still being finalized, but could include compliance, legal affairs, information technology, human resources, and others.
Beaumont’s open floor plan office design will include meeting rooms, shared amenity areas, and collaborative work spaces. Teams will also have input in customizing their work areas. The health care provider will also utilize a first-floor conference center for larger business meetings.
“We will be creating an open, collaborative, and flexible work environment based on the latest research around workplace design,” said Wilson. “This new work environment will optimize employee productivity and outcomes which will ultimately benefit the patients and families we serve.”
Southfield-based design firm Neumann/Smith, which also has offices in downtown Detroit, is the architectural and design firm working to renovate the space.
