Construction has officially started on the Future of Health development in New Center. Officials celebrated the groundbreaking of the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Center on Monday.

The center is located just east of the Lodge and south of East Grand Boulevard, near the Pistons Practice Facility. Work started on the site of the $335 million project in late May.

It's the first groundbreaking of many to come in the larger Future of Health project. Across the Lodge, the former HAP building is being demoed and a new $1 billion medical tower will rise. Near the new research center, residential, parking, and retail space will start to take shape in new construction and adaptive reuse of buildings.

“I am so energized not only by the life-changing research that’s already happening within the partnership, but also by the prospect of what more we can accomplish together inside the walls of the cutting-edge research center we are building in Detroit,” said Bob Riney, president and CEO of Henry Ford Health. “We have a unique opportunity in front of us to meaningfully impact the health of the diverse population we serve through our collective research, while also serving as a national model for the power and potential of university and health care collaboration.” 

According to a press release, the new research center will:

  • Include 335,000 square feet and seven stories of state-of-the-art laboratory space; 
  • Expand research in key areas including cancer, neuroscience, immunology, hypertension and more; and 
  • Provide advanced technology to help recruit top researchers from across the country, offering cutting-edge opportunities for more than 500 team members. 

It will also be home to the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute (NGNRI) through a gift from the Gilbert Family Foundation, in honor of Dan and Jennifer Gilbert's late son.

“Nick fought this terrible disease his entire life,” said Dan Gilbert. “His optimistic spirit and resilience never wavered as he became an example of the kind of fight we expect the research institute named after him to display as it battles to find a cure for NF, from right here in downtown Detroit. We are enormously proud, and we know Nick would be too, to stand alongside so many passionate partners who share in our commitment to eradicate this disease.” 

This will be MSU’s largest research facility and will house more than 80 principal investigator teams, with a focus on closing the gap in health care outcomes for people based on race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic status.