U of M Center for Innovation to break ground in Detroit
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Mayor Mike Duggan, U of M President Santa Ono and others ceremonially broke ground Thursday for the U of M Center for Innovation. The actual groundbreaking is slated for Friday. Photo: Annalise Frank/Axios
U of M's Center for Innovation (UMCI) is expected to break ground Friday after a ceremony praising its merits Thursday.
What happened: A slate of heavy-hitters including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Mayor Mike Duggan, U of M President Santa Ono and Chris Ilitch spoke at the event in the parking lot that the Ilitches' Olympia Development donated to U of M for UMCI.
- Speakers acknowledged how long this project has taken — it was first announced in 2019 on a different site — while expressing soaring optimism for the school's impact on graduate students to attend classes there, plus the city at large.
Catch up quick: U of M is building the $250 million education and training facility with $100 million in state funding and $100 million from billionaire developer Stephen Ross' foundation.
- The project is highly intertwined with Ross and the Ilitch family's $1.5 billion vision for new District Detroit development.
- The District developers' own plans are behind schedule and have yet to break ground.
What they're saying: "When you have the University of Michigan behind something and the talent that they graduate every year, this will bring corporations to Detroit," Ross said in a speech Thursday.
- "Everybody writes about, 'Are you going to do it?'" he said, adding that people should expect to see more development incoming.
- Duggan said Ono becoming U of M's president last year pushed the UMCI plans toward completion, while Ono said he wants the school to help retain local talent and empower the "next generation of Detroiters."
