Henry Ford Health, Michigan State University and Tom Gores and the Detroit Pistons plan to invest $2.5 billion over the next decade to transform Detroit's New Center district.
Anchored by Henry Ford's academic healthcare campus, the development will include a major expansion of Henry Ford Hospital and a medical research facility for Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences, as part of their 30-year partnership.
Residential, affordable housing, commercial and retail components are also included in the project, which builds on the partnership between Henry Ford — a five-hospital system — and Mr. Gores, owner of the Detroit Pistons. The National Basketball Association franchise joined on a $137 million facility in 2019 that brought it back to Detroit and into the new Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center and Center for Athletic Medicine.
"When we acquired the Pistons more than a decade ago, our vision was larger than simply owning an NBA basketball franchise," Mr. Gores said in a Feb. 8 news release. "I viewed this from the start as a 'community asset' that was uniquely positioned to participate in the continuing reinvention of Detroit and to be impactful in the lives of its residents."
Henry Ford President and CEO Robert Riney said the partnership will help revitalize and rebuild neighborhoods in Detroit. The hospital component will be the largest single healthcare investment in the city of Detroit in the health system's history.
"Like all major U.S. cities, our great city of Detroit deserves a premier academic medical center and destination for the most advanced care, research and education," Mr. Riney said. "As an anchor institution that's been committed to building strong, healthy communities for more than a century, we know we can deliver on that promise — to double down on our commitment to being relentless advocates for those we serve."
Henry Ford's board of directors are expected to approve the plan later this month, with the system expected to break ground in 2024.