Stephen Ross, Dan Gilbert, UM in talks to bring ‘innovation center' to former jail

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New York City real estate mogul Stephen Ross is in talks with Detroit billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert and the University of Michigan about establishing a manufacturing innovation center on the vacant Gratiot Avenue site where Wayne County's half-built jail was demolished last summer, Crain's has learned.

The concept is a "Detroit innovation center" that could house research and development for UM, according to three people familiar with the talks who requested anonymity. It would represent a major expansion into Detroit for the university.

For years, the 15-acre former jail site has long been seen as an eyesore to the eastern gateway of downtown Detroit — and a major development opportunity at I-375 and Gratiot that could spur northward revitalization along the avenue.

For UM, the Gratiot site is envisioned to mirror Cornell University's Cornell Tech urban campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Ross' real estate development firm, Related Cos., was one of the developers that constructed Cornell Tech's first residential building on Roosevelt Island, a narrow island in New York's East River nestled between Manhattan Island and the Queens borough.

A native of Detroit who has donated more than $300 million of his wealth to UM, Ross has expressed past interest in doing a real estate project in the city — but has largely remained on the sidelines of the revitalization of downtown Detroit that Gilbert has led since bringing his Quicken Loans Inc. to the city nine years ago.

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https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...rmer-jail-site

For all of you complaining that Ross hasn't been involved in the city enough, this is a big deal.

Exciting news.

It could speed up the timeline of development at fail jail considerably if Gilbert brings in a heavy hitter like Ross as a partner.

A major U of M presence downtown would be a catalyst.

curious. I wonder what exactly this facility would be doing, and what type of local hiring would be taking place.

Seems like a big departure from what some of the original planning was for that site. I wonder how much of a portion of the site this would take up and if there will still be office/housing components to this. It seemed like DG worked for so long trying to get this site for office and residential towers.

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

Seems like a big departure from what some of the original planning was for that site. I wonder how much of a portion of the site this would take up and if there will still be office/housing components to this. It seemed like DG worked for so long trying to get this site for office and residential towers.

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These are my concerns. Originally the idea was to better connect the development of the CBD with Greektown. Perhaps with the sale of Greektown this is less of a priority for Gilbert now.

This seems like a downgrade of what was planned. Ideally Gratiot will one day get built up like Woodward.

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Originally Posted by mikeg19

Seems like a big departure from what some of the original planning was for that site. I wonder how much of a portion of the site this would take up and if there will still be office/housing components to this. It seemed like DG worked for so long trying to get this site for office and residential towers.

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There isn't specifics, I think they certainly could fit meaningful residential/office space on the property. At least discussions at the jail site haven't gone cold, I still think this is good news!

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Originally Posted by 48307

These are my concerns. Originally the idea was to better connect the development of the CBD with Greektown. Perhaps with the sale of Greektown this is less of a priority for Gilbert now.

This seems like a downgrade of what was planned. Ideally Gratiot will one day get built up like Woodward.

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Downgrade? You're seriously complaining right now? This is much better than any usual office/apartment highrise development this would be a research campus lead by one of the country's best universities. This would bring consistent high tech recession proof jobs for decades to come and fuel development all around the city.

I'm not sure the current site is even big enough they would need more space down the line.

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Originally Posted by p1acebo

There isn't specifics, I think they certainly could fit meaningful residential/office space on the property. At least discussions at the jail site haven't gone cold, I still think this is good news!

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Still? This is better news than anything we've ever heard before for this site.

Some of you. I really question how your minds work.

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Originally Posted by Worldsgreatest

Downgrade? You're seriously complaining right now? This is much better than any usual office/apartment highrise development this would be a research campus lead by one of the country's best universities. This would bring consistent high tech recession proof jobs for decades to come and fuel development all around the city.

I'm not sure the current site is even big enough they would need more space down the line.

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I would love to see more details, but depending on how densely the site is used, I could see it as a downgrade. I'm glad it's not going to be an MLS stadium, we have enough stadium "dead zones" in downtown.

What I want to see is a dense mixture of retail, office, and housing. It will help build the area up even more and get more residents downtown. Have a strong, well trafficked area on Gratiot may spur revitalization further north on Gratiot.

I'm open that this may be a good thing, but it doesn't really build on the priorities that I would love to see downtown. I do like the idea of creating high-tech workers right here in Detroit. Right now many of those high tech roles are being filled with folks coming in from abroad because the US lacks. Investment in education over corporate welfare would pay dividends for the lower and middle class.

First thing I thought was wow, this is a hell of a lot better than another stadium downtown. Far better than anything else proposed, IMO.

The article says the inspiration will be the Cornell Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island, in NYC, which Ross' company helped build. It combines academics and industry with residences, public space, and a hotel. All high tech.

Cornell Tech Campus Opens on Roosevelt Island, Marking Transformational Milestone for Tech in NYC
https://tech.cornell.edu/news/cornel...mational-mile/

There isn't room in the existing Detroit location for all that. Still, if this is the model, what more could you want?

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Originally Posted by 48307

Have a strong, well trafficked area on Gratiot may spur revitalization further north on Gratiot.

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That's exactly what this creates and then some.

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Right now many of those high tech roles are being filled with folks coming in from abroad because the US lacks.

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Who cares where they're from? The point in you're infusing the city with lots of high tech jobs and educated people.

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Investment in education over corporate welfare would pay dividends for the lower and middle class.

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That has nothing specifically to do with this project.

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Originally Posted by bust

There isn't room in the existing Detroit location for all that. Still, if this is the model, what more could you want?

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Right? This sounds better than Amazon's HQ2, leave it to DetroitYES to act like this isn't a big deal.

Images from the Cornell Campus on NYC Roosevelt Island....

https://www.google.com/search?q=corn...h=722&dpr=1.25

It'll create thousands of jobs.

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Originally Posted by Worldsgreatest

Right? This sounds better than Amazon's HQ2, leave it to DetroitYES to act like this isn't a big deal.

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With so few details, some may be reserving their judgement.

Gilbert has a track record of operating in good faith, but I'd like to see some more execution. Hudson's site is well underway, but the Monroe Blocks seem to be paused.

I'll get more excited if I see more details that I like.

I would prefer something more urban, like Georgia Tech's Tech Square and High-Tech Computing Center, rather than literally an island development. I agree with the sentiment that this is a good project [[and I wish Michigan State would have thought of it first).. but I hope the execution is better than Cornell Tech.

uhh i think we're safe from those island fears, just a hunch

I think this will be fine. It's not just about downtown development, but also incubating job growth... ;)

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Originally Posted by Worldsgreatest

uhh i think we're safe from those island fears, just a hunch

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I have gone back and read some of your responses.. Do you feel the need to make a snarky remark to anyone who doesn't share your exact opinion? Not to mention, you have been on this forum for less than a year and you think it is appropriate to say things like, "leave it to DetroitYES to [[blah) [[blah) [[blah)"? Not sure what your background is, or how old you are, but I remember a time when I was a young teen on this forum back in the early- to mid-2000s, and I remember having a response for everything and caring about my number of posts [[so I could gain DetroitYES credits I guess :p) and getting very defensive when someone put ANYTHING about Detroit development in a bad light. "Skipper's Rule" even got on my nerves, COME ON!

The design for Cornell Tech has nothing around it to interact with, and despite the plazas, it has very few elements that say that it could be plopped down in the middle of Detroit and work or do anything for the surrounding blocks [[except by spreading new high-tech workers out to said blocks). I want the social/human/economic side, AND the design-side to be working on this. While I agree that anything is better than a jail, we now have an opportunity to really do this right!

This is good, and if both Ross and Gilbert are involved, they will take it seriously. Maybe Ross can give Dan some advice on how to get Monroe Blocks moving!

It's not just the large Fail-Jail block that Gilbert is developing. Once the courts and jails move over to East Warren & I-75, the Murphy Hall of Justice, the 2 Jail buildings, and I believe the lowrise Juvenile Justice center will also be part of this greater site. I don't know about the status of the 1923 [[Albert Kahn designed) old Police HQ, but it is worthy of restoration in any event.

Here's the greater area that Gilbert wants to develop...

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fr...!4d-83.0423626

And since this is Gilbert [[and not Ilitch) we are talking about, I will give him the benefit of the doubt to pull off a successful [[for downtown) project, whatever the details may be.

There's some old [[pre-Michigan rumors) renderings on the Bedrock website for this site:

Attachment 38242
Attachment 38243

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Originally Posted by rbdetsport

The design for Cornell Tech has nothing around it to interact with, and despite the plazas, it has very few elements that say that it could be plopped down in the middle of Detroit and work or do anything for the surrounding blocks [[except by spreading new high-tech workers out to said blocks). I want the social/human/economic side, AND the design-side to be working on this. While I agree that anything is better than a jail, we now have an opportunity to really do this right!

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I understand your concerns, but I think the fact that Gilbert and Ross are involved means that it won't be a sealed off campus. Everything Gilbert has done has been about activating different parts of downtown. I think this activation just includes a university, which I think would be a great addition to downtown. Having a world class university be an anchor in downtown can potentially be huge with all sorts of spinoff.

If this actually ever became a reality, it would be a far wiser and intelligent use of the property, then the typical high-rise hotel , restaurant, entertainment scene , there is already a ton of that on the drawing boards and who knows how much longevity all of that will have. This would bring some wise diversification to the downtown area and solid well-paying jobs to the area which would bring people in to work and live. It would be nice to see downtown getting away from the typical hotel, restaurant ,entertainment plan that it seems to want to concentrate on solely.

This definitely has potential, provided it's executed right [[which remains to be seen).