The College for Creative Studies (CCS) has launched a $55 million capital campaign to support the redevelopment of the Argonaut Building called "Advancing the
Creative Spirit."
The good news? They've already raised $36 million, or 65 percent, of that total. The building will be named the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design Education after the campaign's largest donor to date, A. Alfred Taubman, who has chipped in $15 million. Other large donors that have stepped to the plate are the Benson and Edith Ford Foundation ($5 million), Kresge Foundation ($4 million), New Economy Initiative ($3 million) and Compuware ($1 million).
CCS president Rick Rogers has high hopes for the capital campaign because of the far-reaching impact the reuse of the Argonaut will have on the city. "This is about more than just CCS, it is really about the future of Detroit," he says. "It's about renewing Detroit, creating jobs, revitalizing the New Center area, creating new educational opportunities for kids in Detroit and being a springboard for the development of the creative economy."
Both CCS and the art- and design-oriented high school to be housed in the Argonaut will open on September 8, 2009. Beth Marmarelli, public relations manager for CCS, says that the college's major focus is on getting the main educational components of the building open, with other accessory components such as retail coming on line after that date.
Read Model D's most recent report on the Argonaut
here and watch a Model D TV piece
here.
Source: Rick Rogers and Beth Marmarelli, CCS
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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