Medical Mile: New buildings for a healthier community

Grand Rapids - The Michigan State University Medical School building is just one of many major changes on Michigan Street. More than one billion dollars worth of construction is underway, or planned for the Medical Mile.

By the time all of the construction is done; there will be thousands of new health care jobs, more research into illnesses, and patients will have greater access to care; right on Michigan Street in Grand Rapids.

On Michigan Street in downtown Grand Rapids, you find the Medical Mile ... under construction.

Spectrum Health President Matt Van Vranken says, "It's really kind of a generational impact. We won't be doing this again for another 30 plus years." The cranes climb into the air and buildings are changing the view. Consider this? it's all because of parking. Joe Hooker of Christman Construction says, "The vision really started, unbelievably, with parking. We knew we needed 2000 parking spaces from the very get go." Hooker started plans to build a parking complex, but the company soon realized the potential of this piece of land as a health care destination. The anchor of the construction on the Medical Mile is the $92 million Lemmon-Holton Cancer Center, which is scheduled to open in late June. Van Vranken explains, "It's 245,000 square feet. Six floors, dedicated exclusively to treatment of cancer." Spectrum treats 3,000 new cancer patients a year, and wants to be prepared as baby boomers age. He says, ?We really have sized this facility and the services in it to reflect what we're going to need here in the community in the future." Across Michigan Street, Spectrum is building the $250 million Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, which will be one of the larger children's hospital's in the country when it is finished in 2011. Van Vranken says it will have "dedicated pediatric OR's, dedicated radiology, and really focusing in on the physiological differences from a 5 year old than a 50 year old." Van Vranken also points out that all of this health care construction is attracting more talented physicians and staffers to Grand Rapids. He says, "We're getting people not coming here because of the buildings, but coming here because of the commitment we're making. Towards cancer, towards the treatment for children." The patients and doctors and patient's families at Spectrum will take advantage of the new buildings Christman is constructing. Hooker explains, "The intent for this building is to have physician offices? and then the upper floors are slated for a medical service hotel dedicated to the community and to the medical mile." That's right, a health care hotel for patients and those working at Spectrum and the Van Andel Institute. Van Andel is doing $170 million worth of its own construction. That will nearly triple its laboratory space. Bill Culhane, an Owner's Representative for the Van Andel Institute says, "It's going to be a mirror image of the glass that cascades down from the upper level."

In the new space, the Van Andel Institute could add more than 500 new jobs. Spectrum plans to add 3,000 jobs over the next five years. That's in addition to the 1,400 construction workers transforming the landscape.

Watching the work, Culhane says, "It's just amazing to think that 3 years ago Grand Rapids didn't have any tower cranes in the air and now we have 3 or 4 or sometimes even 5 in the air at the same time." His partner for the Van Andel Institute, Mat Fahrenkrug says, "Grand Rapids is being reborn. It's so exciting to be a part of that, a little part of that. It's exciting to see the rebirth." It's a rebirth of the area's economy that will hopefully lead to a healthier community as well. Spectrum's Van Vranken says, "We are blessed with the opportunity to do this. And are really extremely excited about it." Spectrum Health's Lemmon-Holton Cancer Center is supposed to open in late June 2008. Once all of the work is finished, buildings on the two sides of the street will be connected by pedestrian bridges and tunnels. So the Medical Mile will definitely look different, and offer many more services.