ANN ARBOR, MI - Right now, construction crews are hard at work on several major new buildings that will help the University of Michigan Health System meet surging demand for its nationally recognized medical care, research and education. But at the same time, UMHS leaders are looking to the future, with a new master plan that gives a framework for long-term expansion opportunities.

Robert Kelch, MD

Presented today to the University's Board of Regents, the plan maps out the opportunity for UMHS to build new buildings totaling about 3 million square feet during the next decade or two in three Ann Arbor locations already owned by the University. The potential buildings would add to the nearly 6 million square feet already in existence or under construction in the core medical campus.

At the same time, the plan considers how people will flow into and through all of the areas where patients receive treatment, researchers make discoveries and students prepare for the future. Parking and transportation options, enhanced pedestrian flow, open space and environmental stewardship all receive detailed attention in the plan.

“As we look to the future, when more patients will need our services, more scientists will need research space, and more students will train for tomorrow's careers, we will rely on this plan to guide our growth,” says Robert Kelch, M.D., Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and CEO of the Health System. “Our physical landscape should be just as cohesive as our Health System aims to be.”

Kelch notes that the new master plan ties closely with the Health System's recently completed strategic direction document, which lays out the principles that guide UMHS, the goals and targets that it will aim for in coming years, and the external opportunities and issues that will likely have an impact on its operations.

He also notes that the plan will help UMHS strengthen connections and cooperation with schools and colleges on the University's central and north campuses. “The U-M is one of few institutions in the nation where leading medical, health sciences, business, engineering and law schools are located so close together and we need to strengthen those connections,” he observes.

The plan will be presented more widely this summer. Today's presentation by University Planner Sue Gott laid out some of its highlights, including:

• Potential building opportunities in three areas:
  • The medical center campus core with the major Hospitals & Health Centers clinical facilities and Medical School research and education buildings
  • The Wall Street area just across the Huron River from the core Medical Campus, with the existing Kellogg Eye Center ; this area is seen as a natural extension of the current Medical Campus
  • The East Medical Campus on Plymouth Road , with the East Ann Arbor Health Center and two buildings already under construction
• Transit options for parking, bus service, bicycle facilities and amenities that will provide convenient access to Health System facilities while enhancing traffic flow and addressing staff demand and limited space for vehicles
• Integration of physical facilities with the natural environment and community.

In all, the plan aims to increase mobility within and between the medical campuses and other UMHS and U-M facilities, to increase the density of development in the core Medical Campus in order to make the best use of limited land and existing utilities, and to reaffirm a commitment to environmental stewardship.

“This plan provides a flexible framework within which the Health System can respond to future opportunities, foster connectivity and collaboration within and between different units, and offer a pleasing environment for patients, faculty, staff, students and visitors,” says Gott.

The plan lays out approximately 3 million gross square feet of potential buildings, including approximately 1 million square feet of clinical space for the women's and children's replacement hospital project approved by the Regents in April. That facility, currently being designed, is scheduled to break ground in 2006 and be completed by 2011.

Not included in that total are facilities now under construction or recently completed, including:

• The Biomedical Science Research Building, scheduled to open in early 2006 at the southern edge of the current medical campus, and providing 470,000 square feet of research laboratories, life science support facilities and a 300-seat auditorium.
• The Cardiovascular Center, scheduled to open in 2007 at the heart of the medical center with a 350,000-square-foot clinical building and adjoining 465-space parking deck
• The East Ann Arbor Ambulatory Surgery and Medical Procedures Center, a 46,000-square-foot outpatient diagnostic and treatment facility on the East Ann Arbor medical campus that will open in 2006
• The Rachel Upjohn Building on the East Ann Arbor medical campus, which will house the U-M Depression Center as well as outpatient psychiatry and substance abuse clinics, and will open in late 2006.
• The renovation of space at the Briarwood medical complex in southern Ann Arbor for the relocation of the Center for Reproductive Medicine
• A new cyclotron facility for Medical School research involving short-lived radionuclides
• A 530-space parking structure currently being built on Ann Street near the BSRB
• New medical imaging facilities at University Hospital and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital

In the Medical Campus core, the master plan looks at redevelopment opportunities in areas on Zina Pitcher Place, including the current site of the Kresge complex of buildings built in the 1950s and the area immediately south of the Molecular and Biological Neuroscience Building (formerly Mental Health Research Institute). The plan envisions that both of these areas would be focused on research and educational facilities, and have transit options to bring people in and out of the area.

In the Wall Street area, the plan envisions a mix of clinical, research, administrative, education, parking and transit facilities in 725,000 square feet on a 10-acre area, as well as amenities to make a pedestrian friendly area that's integrated with the Lower Town neighborhood. The Wall Street area is also a short walk or bus ride from the Medical Campus core, making it a potential place for medical center staff to park.

At the East Medical Campus, the plan lays out the possibility of up to 800,000 square feet of facilities, and associated parking and transit, located southeast of the buildings already in place or under construction. A park-like setting with a system of trails is envisioned, to minimize the effect on nearby natural features and promote a positive, healing outdoor environment. These plans are consistent with ones already shared with township officials.

For more information on the UMHS master plan, visit www.med.umich.edu/masterplan. For more on current building projects, visit www.med.umich.edu/buildings. To read the UMHS Strategic Direction document, visit www.med.umich.edu/strategic.

Written by Kara Gavin

E-mail this information to a friend

Recent Press Releases