More Evidence Detroit’s Comeback is Real this Time…

Stephen Ross of Related Companies Announces $300 Million Development in Detroit

Finally someone is redeveloping the famous Detroit eye sore and symbol of Detroit’s failure to manage money…. The failed Wayne County Jail site in downtown Detroit.

This is major news for the city of Detroit and more evidence that Detroit’s comeback is more real than ever!

Announced Wednesday…Billionaire developer Stephen Ross, majority owner of Related Companies, one of the worlds largest development companies, and who was once heard three years ago say “Detroit wasn’t worth investing in” announced that he will be partnering with Dan Gilbert and the University of Michigan to build a campus in downtown Detroit focusing on high-tech research. The anchor building of the development will be the Detroit Center for Innovation (“DCI”)…a $300-million, 190,000-square-foot research and education center at the site of the failed Wayne County Jail site development.

DCI is part of a multi-building development that will include a business incubator, “collaboration space” for established companies, residential units, a hotel, and a conference center and event space at the former Detroit Police Department headquarters owned by Bedrock Detroit.

As noted in an article in The Detroit Free Press, “the center will be operated by U-M and offer programs for about 1,000 graduate and senior-level undergraduate students. It will focus on technology research and education, with a goal of boosting economic development in Detroit and the state, according to the university”.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2021.

In an interview with Crain’s Ross said the total cost of the entire project could exceed $750 million.

“I spent my childhood and many of my young adult years living and working in Detroit and have long wanted to find a way to have a real impact on my hometown,” Ross, founder and Chairman of Related Companies, said in a release. “The idea of the new center reflects the shared commitment of Dan, myself, the city, the county, the state and the University of Michigan to create a transformative center for innovation that will help fuel the city’s next chapter of growth.”

The development would also be a significant expansion of U-M’s footprint in Detroit.

Ross told Crain’s he hopes the center will encourage other businesses to relocate to Detroit to “take advantage of the talent coming there.”

Combining this news with Wayne State University’s expanding innovation district near New Center and Ford’s mobility campus in Corktown, Detroit may indeed become a destination for tech talent.

On a business note, let us know how we can help you get to Detroit!