The Board of Regents has approved the schematic design for the University of Michigan Center for Innovation in downtown Detroit, a six-story building expected to open in spring 2027.
The overall $250-million development marks the school’s largest investment in Detroit since the university was founded in the city in 1817, before moving to a 40-acre parcel in Ann Arbor in 1837 (today home to the Diag).
The lower floors of the UMCI building that fronts along Grand River Avenue will contain public-facing programs while the upper floors will be dedicated mostly to graduate programs. The building broke ground in December and preliminary site work has been ongoing.
The regents also authorized the university to proceed with construction, provided that bids are within the project’s budget.
The first two floors of UMCI will house public programs, a café, and shared office space for the U-M Detroit Center, Admissions Office, School of Environment and Sustainability Clinic, and others, while levels three through six are planned for multidisciplinary graduate research.
Included within the building is shelled (open) space that will provide flexibility and expansion opportunities in the future.
The project broke ground in December at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and West Columbia Street. The proposed 200,000-gross-square-foot building will be the first of three buildings to be constructed on the site, with the other two — an incubator space likely in the former Loyal Order of Moose Lodge at Cass Avenue and W. Elizabeth Street, and a multi-story residential building along W. Columbia Street at Cass Avenue — to be developed at a future date.
The entire site is bounded by Grand River Avenue, W. Columbia Street, Cass Avenue, and W. Elizabeth Street (just north of DTE Energy’s headquarters).
U-M officials state the UMCI will be a world-class research, education, and entrepreneurship center designed to generate innovation and talent-focused community development to advance city, region, and statewide job creation and inclusive economic growth by stimulating economic development in Detroit.
Programming at the innovation center will offer a mixed-model approach that includes both master’s degrees and workforce development programs focused on technology and innovation.
“UMCI will bring together the best of the University of Michigan to catalyze economic development in the city of Detroit,” says U-M Provost Laurie McCauley. “It will house a robust portfolio of academic programs, including new interdisciplinary graduate degrees and certificate programs aligned to the skills of the future needed to attract startups as well as major employers to the region.
“UMCI will also host a multitude of community engagement activities for the residents of Detroit, ranging from K-12 programs like the Michigan Engineering Zone to the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project, and many more.”
Last fall, the regents approved agreements related to land donation and purchases from Olympia Development, and a $100 million gift from top donor Stephen M. Ross. The project also received a $100 million grant from the state of Michigan. An additional $50 million will be raised from donors, says Geoffrey Chatas, U-M executive vice president and chief financial officer.
“The UMCI is a catalyst for positive change and, as such, presents itself along Grand River Avenue as a ‘gateway for innovation,'” says Hana Kassem, design principal of Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), which is designing the University of Michigan Center for Innovation.
“It proudly bears the University of Michigan spirit focusing on progress and inclusivity, which is embodied in its dynamic forward-leaning form and the portal that cuts through it, inviting access to all. Its transparent facade at street level engages the passerby, showcasing innovation, by putting making and research on display.”
The center, along with the P-20 Partnership at the School at Marygrove, the $40 million Rackham building renovation, the U-M Detroit Center, which opened in 2005 in Midtown, and hundreds of other projects U-M works on with community partners around the city, are examples of how the university has stepped up its community engagement in the city in recent years.
In addition, last November U-M appointed the inaugural director of UMCI — Scott Shireman, an experienced higher education administrator with deep expertise in global and online education. His appointment to a five-year term started on Jan. 1, 2024.
For more information about UMCI, visit here.
