Troy celebrates groundbreaking for new health care center

TROY — Members of the Troy community and officials from the University of Michigan celebrated a groundbreaking Aug. 6 for a new health care center. 

Named the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Troy Center for Specialty Care, the center will be a four-story building spanning 224,000 square feet, located on a portion of the property at 3100 W. Big Beaver Road, previously a Kmart headquarters. 

The new $250 million facility will provide metal health services, reproductive medicine services, musculoskeletal services, cancer treatment services, outpatient surgery and procedures, laboratory and pathology services, pharmacy services, diagnostic resources and more.

Previously, the 40-acre property had been vacant since 2006. The site was demoed in November 2023 and is now ready for redevelopment. 

In March 2024, University of Michigan Health purchased 7.28 acres of the property for $4.42 million to build its health care center. One year later, two additional parcels were purchased for $2.5 million. One of the parcels is 2.2 acres, while the other is 1.88 acres.

In June 2024, Kenneth Eisenberg made a substantial donation to the project, which will be named in honor of him and his late wife, Frances. Both are graduates of the University of Michigan who have donated millions to their alma mater.

“Building on a long history of philanthropic support for health care and research at the University of Michigan, Kenneth Eisenberg recently made an additional $40 million gift,” said Jina Sawani Musto, communications manager for University of Michigan Medical, in an email, noting that Eisenberg designated $25 million of his gift for construction of the new facility. 

The ceremony took place at 2288 Cunningham Dr. Attendees included Forbes/Frankel Troy Ventures LLC representative Nate Forbes, Troy Mayor Ethan Baker and former U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabeow, among others. Eisenberg was also present with his sister Sue Ellen Eisenberg.

Eisenberg spoke on what the center means to him and his family.

“This center, named in honor of my beloved Francis and our family, is more than a building,” Eisenberg said. “It’s a testament to a lifetime of love, service, and belief in the power of medicine to transform lives.”

Baker said he’s excited both for the impact the development will have on Troy, and the health benefits it will provide to residents in the area. 

“Obviously, I’m very proud of the fact that the city of Troy is consistently ranked a Top 10 city in our country for livability, for business, for many things, but we know healthcare is a key component in that,” Baker said. “Access to quality medical care is the driving force in those rankings, and I can only imagine what it’s going to do for the city of Troy’s rankings by having this (medical center) here.”

The center is expected to open in the spring of 2027. Forbes/Frankel Troy Ventures LLC are also working on plans for another project that could include 750 residential units, 500,000 square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of retail space and a 250-room hotel, as well as other amenities and open space on a portion of the former Kmart site. 

For more information, visit troymi.gov or michiganmedicine.org.