Kresge Foundation Plans 70,000-Square-Foot Office Development at Detroit's Marygrove Campus

The Kresge Foundation announced Sept. 24 that it has advanced plans for an approximately 70,000-square-foot, four-story office and community facility at the Marygrove Conservancy campus in northwest Detroit, with a groundbreaking scheduled for spring 2027 and project completion targeted for 2029.

The announcement marks one year since the foundation first disclosed its intention to consolidate operations at the 53-acre campus at 8425 McNichols Road. The update expands the scope of campus improvements and outlines continued neighborhood investments shaped through community engagement.

"Over the past year, residents, campus partners, students and neighbors have helped shape a vision for this project that strengthens Marygrove as a community asset, invests in the long-term well-being of surrounding neighborhoods and creates a Kresge facility designed to serve the public as well as our staff," said Rip Rapson, president and CEO of the Kresge Foundation. "Today's update reflects what we have learned through the collaborative process and the ways those ideas are shaping the campus and neighborhood investments."

Facility Design and Campus Scope

The planned Kresge facility will be located in the northeast quadrant of the Marygrove campus and is designed to serve both foundation staff and the broader public. Current plans call for a public ground floor featuring reception space, community gathering areas, a café, a gallery and community meeting rooms. The building is expected to accommodate approximately 130 employees.

Diller Scofidio + Renfro is serving as design architect, with Hannah-Neumann/Smith as local architect of record. Hood Design Studio is leading landscape architecture for the broader campus.

"We envision the new facility as a welcoming civic space that reflects the vitality of the Marygrove campus and the surrounding neighborhoods," Rapson said.

Beyond the office building, the project encompasses infrastructure and landscape improvements across the full 53-acre campus. Hood Design Studio's plan introduces gardens, lawns, groves, pathways and gathering areas, along with stormwater management and retention features intended to strengthen climate resilience. A new campus quad is planned as a central gathering space for students, campus residents and neighbors, and will be designed to accommodate special events and community celebrations.

Additional improvements include a more welcoming campus entrance along McNichols Road, new pedestrian pathways, an upper elementary playground, a basketball court on the east side of campus and a reconfigured athletic field.

"These improvements reflect our commitment to creating a campus that serves people across every stage of life and learning," said Tom Lewand, CEO of the Marygrove Conservancy. "From new gathering spaces and recreational amenities to intentional pedestrian connections and climate-resilient landscapes, these enhancements will strengthen the daily experience of everyone who learns, works, and visits Marygrove and will ensure the campus remains a welcoming and vibrant community asset for generations to come."

Community Engagement and Neighborhood Investment

The Kresge Foundation and its partners have convened more than 125 residents and stakeholders through the Livernois-McNichols Neighborhood Action Agenda, a process designed to identify investment priorities in the five neighborhoods adjacent to the Marygrove campus. Partners in that effort include the Marygrove Conservancy, Live6 Alliance, Detroit Collaborative Design Center and UrbanAC.

A set of proposed strategies and actions is expected to be released in October, addressing priorities focused on youth, housing, commercial corridors, small businesses, culture and heritage, community capacity and neighborhood well-being.

Some initiatives are already underway. Live6 Alliance provided one-time operating grants to 10 legacy volunteer-led neighborhood associations this spring and is administering the Resident Investment and Opportunity Fund, a program connecting residents with property tax relief, heirs' property assistance, side-lot acquisition opportunities and climate-smart home repair resources.

Campus stakeholders have also contributed directly to design decisions. Students in grades 3–6 at The School at Marygrove participated in a playground design session with landscape architect Walter Hood, while high school students joined a workshop to refine concepts for the new campus quad. Neighboring residents participated in a walking tour to provide feedback on proposed infrastructure improvements.

"This project continues to evolve because of the people who care most deeply about Marygrove and its surrounding neighborhoods," Rapson said. "Their ideas are helping ensure these investments create lasting value for students, families, residents and future generations."

Market Context: A Purpose-Built Project in a Soft Office Environment

The Kresge Foundation's development advances as Detroit's office market continues to absorb elevated vacancy. Overall office vacancy in Detroit stood at 19.4% in the second quarter of 2026, with Class A vacancy at 18.8%. The market recorded 93,000 square feet of positive net absorption during the quarter, while 437,000 square feet was under construction across six projects. Average asking rents were $20.68 per square foot, reflecting modest softening on both a quarterly and annual basis.

Other brokerage reports place vacancy somewhat differently — Cushman & Wakefield reported 18.5% overall vacancy for the second quarter, while Newmark placed Metro Detroit vacancy at 21.2% — with variation reflecting differences in geographic coverage and methodology. The reports broadly agree that vacancy remains above long-term norms.

The Kresge project is structured as an owner-occupier development rather than a speculative office investment, insulating it from conventional leasing-market pressures. The foundation is building to its own program and workforce requirements, integrating public-use and campus functions in a single facility.

The Marygrove campus is the former Marygrove College campus, which operated from 1905 to 2019. The Marygrove Conservancy was established in 2018 to steward the property. Kresge's project is therefore tied to the continued repositioning of an established institutional campus in northwest Detroit.

The foundation announced the headquarters plan in 2025 as part of a five-year, $180 million investment commitment in the surrounding Livernois-McNichols area, encompassing housing stabilization, homeownership, public-space improvements and commercial-corridor revitalization. The September 2026 update moves the project toward a defined construction schedule and expands the campus vision informed by a year of community engagement.

Sources

The Kresge Foundation — "The Kresge Foundation advances Detroit neighborhood and Marygrove campus investments," Sept. 24, 2026