By the end of January, a 45,000-square-foot building on Michigan Ave. will open its doors as an integrated healthcare center. An estimated 7,000 patients will be served annually at the facility, which will provide medical, pediatric, obstetric, dental, psychiatric and behavioral counseling services. All services will be bilingual.
Tenants will include Southwest Counseling Solutions, Covenant Community Care, Madonna University and several other health, child care and education providers. "The creation of a wellness center concept gets to the benefits of integrated care," says Tim Thorland, executive director of developer
Southwest Housing Solutions. "By co-locating in the same building, collaborating on both sides of the medical spectrum and adding in daycare, (we are providing) more well-rounded support services that can further enhance the quality of life for people."
The $11.2 million renovation project was financed via new market, historic and brownfield tax credits and funding and loans from numerous other sources that include Living Cities, Local Initiatives Support Collaborative, JP Morgan Chase, Kresge Foundation, United Way, Wayne County and the city of Detroit. The building was designed by Albert Kahn as a tobacco factory.
5716 Michigan Avenue is the third building that Southwest Housing has redeveloped in the Michigan/Livernois area, but it won't likely be the last. "What we are doing is conglomerating resources (like we did at) West Grand Blvd. and Vernor and at Lawndale and W. Vernor," says Thorland. "We view Michigan and Livernois as one of those places." A public planning process will be facilitated by the Detroit Collaborative Design Center that will identify community assets and propose future development projects.
Source: Tim Thorland, Southwest Housing Solutions
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
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