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Healthcare

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Expertise

Geotechnical, Environmental, Construction Materials, Steel, Coatings, and Nondestructive Testing

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Location

Detroit, MI

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Healthcare

Henry Ford Health Destination: Grand

The $3B Henry Ford Health Destination: Grand is the result of a transformational vision for healthcare, development, and investment in Detroit. 

The new 21-story hospital tower, 185,000-square foot shared services building, and 46,000-square-foot central energy hub comprise the centerpiece of a sweeping neighborhood transition that will include a 7-story Michigan State University Health Sciences building, two parking decks, a six-story, mixed-use residential development with market-rate and affordable housing, retail, green space, and recreational components.  

This project engages our geotechnical, environmental, building materials, and construction materials service groups. It is a multi-year, multi-site, $3 billion brownfields redevelopment and neighborhood transformation spearheaded by a public-private-partnership between the City of Detroit, Henry Ford Health, The Detroit Pistons, and Michigan State University. 

SME’s geotechnical services included the new hospital and tower adjacent to the Brigitte Harris Cancer Pavilion, a planned combined services facility south of the new hospital, a new central utility plant (CUP) and parking deck south of the Cancer Pavilion, and a new parking deck along 3rd Avenue east of the Lodge Freeway. The central tower and southwest deck will be supported on drilled piers bearing at depths of 140 to as deep as 180 feet below street level, while the remaining structures will be supported on shallow foundations.

SME drill teams from Kalamazoo, Livonia, and Cleveland assisted with drilling to meet project deadlines. We encountered soft hardpan at one of the boring locations, and performed one of our deepest borings to date in Southeast Michigan, at about 187 feet. In addition to conventional geotechnical services, we performed infiltration testing and MASW and site-specific seismic analyses. The MASW and site-specific analysis is expected to result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in construction cost savings in the design and construction phase, as the results of the geodynamic services allowed us to provide a higher site class and design category.

This project will be a revitalizing presence in the New Center community of Detroit. The project will bring 2,000 construction jobs and 700 permanent jobs to the city. It will expand world class health care right in the heart of Detroit and will enlarge the zone of development and investment in Detroit, moving away from the urban core and into the neighborhoods. The new $2.2B hospital facility is expected to open its doors in 2029.