The UM Center for Innovation & Design

Detroit has been waiting for a genuine research hub for years. 

Now, the University of Michigan is staking a claim for one in downtown Detroit, which will be called the UM Center for Innovation & Design, a building that started construction in early 2025 and is set to be finished by 2027 – the kind of place where students, scientists, and businesses will all have a place to call home.

The pitch is straightforward: Detroit has intellectual capital, but the brains often get educated and then leave for nearby cities like Ann Arbor or out-of-state locations, typically on the east or west coasts.

The hope with the UM Center for Innovation & Design is to encourage students to stay in Detroit and build something in the city that nurtured them, rather than graduating and quickly leaving. 

Imagine: labs, classrooms, startup spaces, and partnerships with local companies – a place where research doesn’t just sit on paper but actually creates new jobs and businesses.

The project is backed by the University of Michigan as well as the Ilitch family, which may raise concerns among some locals, given the Ilitch family’s reputation for not always meeting expectations with their projects in the Metro area. 

However, the fact that this is a University of Michigan development gives it more credibility, as the University of Michigan is not known for letting its reputation rest on unfulfilled promises.

Moreover, anyone who has driven near District Detroit recently knows that the area is in dire need of revitalization.

Outside of the arena and some new bars and apartments, there are still many empty lots where nothing is happening, and the addition of a large research center could bring much-needed balance. 

Picture it: students walking to class, tech startups renting offices, and restaurants staying open past dinner time.

The success of the UM Center for Innovation & Design ultimately depends on the long-term vision of its developers.

If it’s just another Ann Arbor satellite dropped into town or a glass box for a select few, it will likely fail. But if it feels welcoming and inclusive, it may serve as the encouragement some students need to stay in Detroit and put down roots, giving the city the research anchor it has wanted for decades.

We’ll know whether it has succeeded by 2027. 

For now, it’s just another crane in the sky…one that may very well play a hand in shaping Detroit’s future.