8/27/25 C & G Special Edition — Oakland

NEWSPAPERS Special Edition

Arts, Beats & Eats announces legendary music lineup

Novi High School seniors claim their parking spots with art

BY CHARITY MEIER cmeier@candgnews.com

BY TAYLOR CHRISTENSEN tchristensen@candgnews.com

ROYAL OAK — Michigan Lottery Arts, Beats & Eats presented by Flagstar Bank recently announced the musical lineup for the Aug. 29-Sept. 1 festival.

The Arts, Beats & Eats team also revealed the festival’s new logo, which they said pays tribute to the history and urban lifestyle of metro Detroit.

The artist, Nick Pizaña, said that the design, created with his signature cartoon style of vibrant colors, “harnesses the passion, creativity and community that merge together at Michigan Lottery Arts, Beats & Eats. Its vintage feel reminds us not only of this year’s coming event, but of the festival’s 28-year legacy and the memories and experiences it has created for Royal Oak and Southeast Michigan,” Pizaña said in a prepared statement.

NOVI — For the third year running, Novi High School seniors kicked off their final year of school by claiming and painting their parking spots Aug.11.

Despite the intense heat, more than 200 seniors spent the following week decorating their spots with their friends and family.

“It’s a really good, like, bonding activity,” said Avrie Antrobius, 17.

Antrobius said she was able to work with her friends, and they helped each other decorate their parking spots.

The annual event is a fundraiser for the Senior All Night Party, which will take place at the school following graduation on May 17, 2026. The party gives students a safe way to celebrate their graduation with their classmates before they go their separate ways.

Senior Ryan Burr said he chose to participate in the event to help fund the party, but he enjoyed hanging out with friends to work on the project.

“It’s nice to kind of reconnect with the people I haven’t seen in a while and still be able to hang out with the people I’ve been with all summer,” said Burr.

To participate in the event, students paid $105 for a designated parking spot in one of two student lots: the front lot off 10 Mile Road near the tennis courts and the theater, or the back lot off Taft Road near the football field. Forty-five dollars out of the purchase price goes toward the party. Students choose which lot and whom they park by, while committee members designate which spot they get.

Antrobius said that she has been looking forward to participating in the parking spot event since it was initiated during her sophomore year.

“It’s just kind of that feeling of knowing you’re

SECOND FRONT PAGE

2025 OAA FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW: The

best conference in

BY SCOTT BENTLEY sbentley@candgnews.com

OAKLAND COUNTY — Summer is coming to a close and that means that high school football teams across Michigan are preparing for the 2025 season.

In 2023, the Oakland Activities Association produced two state champions in Harper Woods at the Division 4 level and Southfield A&T at the Division 1 level. That season, Southfield A&T won the title by defeating a Belleville team at Ford Field that had five-star recruit, and now NIL-record-setting quarterback, Bryce Underwood under center.

However, 2024 was a different story for the conference. The OAA didn’t have a team in any of the eight state title games last fall, and its two reigning champs took steps back with Harper Woods finishing 9-4 and Southfield A&T going 2-7 with an 0-4 record against OAA White teams.

This season, there is a lot of excitement surrounding what the OAA could be and the amount of talent that is prevalent from top to bottom. Looking at each division, there are plenty of storylines to watch heading into opening night.

OAA-White preseason coaches poll (1st place votes)

1. Harper Woods: 9-4 last season (2).

2. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek: 5-5.

3. Birmingham Groves: 12-1.

4. Rochester: 4-5.

5. Southfield A&T: 2-7.

Troy celebrates groundbreaking for new health care center

Michigan?

Harper Woods made the Division 4 state semifinals last year before losing to eventual state champion Goodrich by a score of 28-14. The team will return a whopping 37 players with some sort of varsity playing experience, including a rare four-year starting quarterback in Nate Rocheleau. Harper Woods will also boast one of the best wide receiver rooms in the state with star wideout Dakota Guerrant returning as a junior this year and Deandre Bidden entering his sophomore season. Both already listed as four-star recruits, Guerrant is ranked as the top high school player in the state for the 2027 recruiting class, while Bidden is ranked as the top player in Michigan for the 2028 recruiting class.

This will be year two of Rick Powell leading Stoney Creek’s football team, and there is a lot of potential in Rochester Hills. Not only is last year’s 5-5 team returning 12 total starters, but the reinforcements coming to fill holes in the roster will come from a junior varsity team that went 9-0 last season and an 8-1 freshman team. Jack Fredenberg and Jake Lantzy will be key players on both sides of the ball, and quarterback Brandon Gergics returns as well.

Last year, Birmingham Groves recorded an undefeated regular season and made the Division 2 state semifinal. The Falcons lost the game in overtime by a score of 28-27 against Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, and OLSM went on to win the state title by 16 points. Groves is set to have 10 returners starting from last year’s squad (five on each side of the ball) and yet the coaches predict a step back for the team in Brendan Flaherty’s 25th season on the sidelines. Four-star offensive lineman Avery Gach is among the no-

BY SARAH WRIGHT swright@candgnews.com

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

Rolling through Berkley and Ferndale

Aug. 15-16 marked the return of notable classic car events in Berkley and Ferndale. Berkley’s CruiseFest and its Classic Car Parade took place on Aug. 15, and the 30th anniversary of the Woodward Dream Cruise was held on Aug. 16. Ferndale, the original home of the Dream Cruise, held its annual Mustang Alley that highlights Ford Mustangs and introduced the Bronco Corral this year for Ford Broncos.

TOP LEFT: Two Boss 302 Mustangs are on display in Mustang Alley during the Woodward Dream Cruise. BOTTOM LEFT: Thousands of people visit Ferndale to check out Mustangs, Broncos and more during the Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 16. ABOVE: Visitors walk past a line of Ford Broncos on display in the Bronco Corral during the Woodward Dream Cruise. RIGHT: Hot Wheels toys are seen for sale at a vendor booth in Mustang Alley during the Woodward Dream Cruise.

LEFT: Hundreds of classic cars, including this Opel GT,

12 Mile Road as part of the Berkley CruiseFest Classic Car Parade on Friday, Aug. 15. BOTTOM LEFT: A Volkswagen driver in the Berkley CruiseFest Classic Car Parade flashes a peace sign to onlookers. BOTTOM RIGHT: A tiny convertible parks on the street in downtown Berkley as people celebrate the return of CruiseFest.

Detroit Jazz Festival builds on jazz legacy while celebrating genre’s evolution

BY K. MICHELLE MORAN kmoran@candgnews.com

DETROIT — Detroit’s reputation as a place where musical excellence is nurtured and celebrated will be on display over Labor Day weekend when the Detroit Jazz Festival returns for its 46th year.

The free festival — which features artists from international jazz luminaries to stellar students — will take place on stages in downtown Detroit and in midtown, on the Wayne State University campus, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 1.

Jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran is this year’s artist-in-residence. Among his performances will be a collaboration with electronic music artist Jeff Mills at 9 p.m. Aug. 29, his presentation of the music of Duke Ellington featuring the Detroit Jazz Festival Collegiate Jazz Orchestra at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 31, and Moran and the Bandwagon with special guests Meshell Ndegeocello and Akili Bradley at 6 p.m. Sept. 1.

Other headliners include Marion Hayden and Legacy with special guest Kamau Kenyatta, Keyon Harrold, John Pizzarelli, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Omar Sosa Quarteto Americanos, Chucho Valdés & Paquito D’Rivera Reunion Sextet, and Branford Marsalis Quartet.

“The festival is all about this music,” said Chris Collins, president and artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation. “This is a (45) year tradition of music that is woven into the DNA of Detroit.”

Musicians on the bill with metro Detroit roots include Hayden, Rodney Whitaker and Allen Dennard, whose quartet will

be playing at 5:45 p.m. Aug. 30. Collins said Dennard came through the DJF’s youth program in middle school. Another rising jazz talent from the DJF education program, Wayne State University graduate Louis Jones III — a drummer and composer — will be joined by his band, The Flood, for a set at 3 p.m. Sept. 1.

Zen Zadravec was born in Winnipeg, Canada, but now calls Livonia home. He’s played the DJF before but is excited to be making his main stage debut at 2:45 p.m. Aug. 30, which he said is “a huge honor.” Making it even more special is the fact that his piano teacher, Kenny Barron, will be performing on the same stage that day, at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 30. Zadravec’s latest CD, “The New Paradigm,” will be celebrated with release party concerts in October at the Dirty Dog Jazz Café in Grosse Pointe Farms.

“There’s going to be straight-ahead

(jazz with) elements of fusion and funk,” Zadravec said of the new CD and works he and his band will be playing at the festival.

He said the festival is a chance for audiences to connect with something real — a contrast to the carefully curated images fostered on social media.

“My goal as a musician is not just to play good music, but that people will be touched by the compositions and they will walk away feeling better than when they came … and be inspired,” Zadravec said.

High school bands from across Michigan selected for the DJF include Notre Dame Preparatory High School Jazz Band from Pontiac at 1 p.m. Aug. 30, Utica High School Band at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 30, Rochester Adams High Band at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 31 and Cass Tech High School at noon Sept. 1. They’ll perform at Detroit Jazz Hall inside the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center at

Wayne State University, a performance space specifically designed to best showcase jazz. The venue opened last year and is the festival’s fourth stage this year, Collins said.

“I wanted them to be on a professional stage with a professional crew and lighting,” Collins said of the high school bands.

As an educator and touring musician himself, Collins is always meeting other musicians and encountering new talent. He also continues to have an open submission process for festival artists from February to June, to find musicians who weren’t on his radar.

Audiences will hear jazz veterans and newer artists on the same stages. Collins said he’s always interested in established artists who continue to evolve and try new things, as well as exemplary artists who aren’t as well known yet.

“We really want to celebrate the idea of

Parking

finally a senior,” she said. “It’s fun to know you have your own space almost. It’s like a special thing, I feel. You’re about to leave, and you get your own space, and you get to come here every day with your friends that you’re (parking) by.”

Many parents even jumped in to help their kids paint their spots. Burr’s dad, Jason, helped his son paint the parking spot where he will be parking his 2019 Jeep Wrangler.

“Is it really for the kids? I’ve seen more parents out here doing work than kids,” Jason Burr joked.

He said he thought that it was a great fundraiser and event.

“It’s a great fundraiser. It gives the kids an outlet for their creativity, and then they always know where they are going to park,” Jason Burr said. “They all come late anyway; at least now they’ll know where they’re supposed to be parking and not have to try, like, the Civic Center or wherever else.”

The location of their spots was important for best friends Tessa Taulbee and Brooklynn Schomaker, who were able to get “the luck of the draw” by not just getting their spots next to each other, but back to back. They said that they had hoped to have their parking spots like that, for parking ease,

but it truly was luck of the draw, as they don’t pick exactly which spots they get.

“I wanted her spot to be in front of mine because she doesn’t come to school on time, so I could pull through into my spot,” said Taulbee with a laugh.

The parking spot designs had to be submitted in advance of the event to ensure that they were appropriate for the school. The designs reflect the students’ passions, hobbies, extracurricular activities, noteworthy characteristics and life mottos.

“My spot, it’s kind of silly, but I’m always late every day, so my spot says, ‘If you’re reading this, I’m late,’ with a clock that says 8:10 a.m.,” Alyssa Zellman said.

High school classes in Novi begin at 8 a.m. Her mother, Tiffany, was assisting her with the project. She said that her daughter is indeed late for everything, and she has no idea where she gets that from, as she and her husband are very punctual and are at least 15 minutes early for everything. She said her son, who is going to be a freshman this year, will not be riding to school with his sister.

Antrobius decorated her spot with a stop sign that has her life motto on it, “Never stop having fun.” Burr’s spot reflects the sports he plays, baseball and basketball, and has his initials.

The committee kept the parking lots blocked off for the kids to decorate their spots through Aug. 17.

Jazz from page 6A

legacy and this art form that is living and breathing — it’s not a museum piece,” Collins said. “The Detroit Jazz Festival is about the art form of yesterday, today and tomorrow, and we go to great lengths to (reflect that).”

The festival begins at 6 p.m. Aug. 29 with Dr. Valade’s Brass Band featuring Shannon Powell. The traditional New Orleans-style brass band’s name pays tribute to the late Gretchen Valade, a philanthropist and businesswoman from Grosse Pointe Farms whose lifelong love of jazz led her to rescue the festival when it was on the verge of collapse circa 2005, leading her to be nicknamed the “Angel of Jazz.” Her private foundation, the Gretchen C. Valade Endowment for the Arts, continues to provide funding for the festival. Valade died Dec. 30, 2022, at the age of 97.

Keeping the DJF free was one of Valade’s goals, but putting on a free festival isn’t cheap. Collins said it costs about $4.5 million to $5 million annually to produce the DJF. That’s why corporate sponsorships and donations of any amount are always needed. VIP festival tickets are a way to support the event while enjoying special seating and hospitality. Collins said an audit this year found that 85 cents of every dollar donated goes directly into festival programming.

The festival — which attracts visitors from around the world — brings roughly $30 million worth of economic development to Detroit over four days, Collins said.

Those who can’t attend in person can watch a free festival livestream via the DJF website, which drew almost 2 million unique viewers in 38 countries last year, Collins said.

For a full festival schedule or more about donation opportunities, visit detroitjazzfest.org.

table losses, as the former top-five recruit in the state is a freshman at the University of Michigan this season.

Erik Vernon enters year 17 as Rochester High School football’s head coach, and the team is optimistic about this season. Bigname senior Marcus Aidem will be a fixture in the trenches on both sides of the ball, and running back Devin Grabke will look to build on his impressive 2024. Matt Dyki returns at quarterback as a sophomore.

After a state title in 2023, head coach Aaron Marshall was hired away from A&T by Brother Rice, spelling a new era for Southfield A&T football. Year two for head coach Keith McKenzie will likely be an uphill battle, but there’s still talent on the roster. The defense will return an athletic secondary with players like Kenny Brooks, Mark Reid, Aden Dyer and Taurean Davis, while the offense that struggled last season will look to take a step forward behind quarterback Jeremy Porter.

OAA - Red preseason coaches poll (1st place votes)

1. Clarkston: 7-4 last season (4).

2. Lake Orion: 6-4.

3. West Bloomfield: 5-6.

4. Rochester Adams: 10-3.

5. Oxford: 7-4.

Despite a third-place finish a year ago, Clarkston received the most first-place votes out of any team in the OAA heading into 2025. After a 7-4 finish last year, Clarkston returns 11 starters, including four of the team’s six offensive lineman from last season.

for a team on the rise. The team will start five players who are three-year starters.

Adams lost in the state semifinal to Hudsonville a year ago and also lost a very talented senior class, including Saginaw Valley State University commit Liam Kania (edge). The team will bring back nine starters total, including playmaker Nolan Farris, but will need the program’s talented youth to step up in 2025.

The program will bring back senior quarterback Patrick Hughes as well as slotback seniors Conrad Swanson and Casey Goetz. Outside of that, Birmingham only returns two other starters from last year, so a lot of inexperienced players will fill starting roles.

Griffin and Lukas Boman will be impact players on both sides of the ball, and quarterback Alex Waszczenko will return as well.

Lake Orion sports a 15-4 combined record over the last two seasons; however, it has lost to Clarkston in the district playoffs in each of those years. This year, the team will look to get over the hump thanks to size and athleticism up front. The group of returning starters is led by senior three-star tight end and Western Michigan commit Ryan Rocheleau.

West Bloomfield had one of the most talented teams in the state in 2023 and made the semifinal before losing to eventual champion Southfield A&T. Last year, the program took a step back after losing a lot of the team’s best players to college, but this year looks to rebound. Three-star recruit seniors Travis Robertson (committed to Bowling Green) and Jeremiah Benson (Committed to Minnesota) are both set to be impact players

Oxford finds itself in last in the coaches poll despite its 3-1 OAA Red record leading the team to a division title last year. The team is returning some size up front and impressive three-year starting quarterback Jack Hendrix, which should help the offense stay competitive. The concerns lie in the fact that only three starters on offense and defense from 2024 are set to start in 2025, and right now the team is planning on replacing a whopping 16 starting positions.

OAA - Blue preseason coaches poll (1st place votes)

1. North Farmington: 6-4 last season (3).

2. Birmingham Seaholm: 7-4.

3. Farmington: 7-4.

4. Oak Park: 3-6.

5. Troy Athens: 3-6.

6. Bloomfield Hills: 1-8.

7. Troy: 4-5.

North Farmington won the OAA Blue a year ago despite going winless out of conference, thanks to a 6-0 OAA Blue record. The team will be relatively young and inexperienced, but it still brings back key contributors such as Terrance Jones, Owen Vara, Noah Kornspan and Gabe Jankowski.

Head coach Jim DeWald will enter year 14 at Seaholm with a young but hungry team.

Farmington went from a 2-7 team to a 7-4 team in just one season and will look to keep that momentum going this year. The team returns 13 starters from a team that won a first round playoff game last year before losing to eventual state champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s.

Since the program’s magical postseason run in 2020, Oak Park has not returned to postseason play. This year, the hope is to change that behind a group of 15 returning starters, highlighted by William Reed, Jaedan Randolph and Cardelle Carrington.

A 3-6 record may not jump off the page, but Athens started the season 1-5 and ended on a high note. The team looks to carry that over this year behind 10 returning starters. Some of the notable players are Grayson Conrad, Andrew Dunlap, Cainan Hanbury and Nathan Piggott.

One of the biggest storylines in the entire state of Michigan will be how new head coach Scott Merchant will do in year one. Merchant is a Chippewa Valley legend, going 103-53 with a state title over the span of 15 years. He also coached at Lawrence Tech University a year ago, and will now look to take a rebuilding Bloomfield Hills team back to the top. The team is 2-16 combined over the last two seasons, and according to Merchant, the team is “starting from scratch” with all positions on the field up for grabs.

Troy went 3-3 against OAA Blue competition last year and barely missed a post-

See FOOTBALL on page 9A

season appearance. The uphill battle for the program this season is that it only has six returning starters from last year’s team, and it is filling those holes via a JV team that went 0-9 a year ago. Senior offensive linemen Mike Helinski and Connor Gillespie will look to lead an inexperienced group.

OAA - Gold preseason coaches poll (1st place votes)

1. Ferndale: 6-4 last season (3).

2. Auburn Hills Avondale: 7-4.

3. Berkley: 2-7.

4. Royal Oak: 3-6.

5. Pontiac: 1-8.

Ferndale finished last year second in the OAA Gold and played a playoff game after a 6-3 regular season. The big question at Ferndale will be how the team handles the transition to a new head coach, as Ferndale alum Donovan Jackson will take over this year. Last year’s OAA Gold winners come in as the projected runner-up from the coaches this year. Avondale won a playoff game before losing to Walled Lake Western. The

program is also under new coaching as Jim Carlisle will take over on the sidelines this year. This may be a rebuilding season, thanks to an astonishing zero starters from last year returning this season. A new era of Avondale football begins.

Berkley returns a solid number of seniors from last year’s team and will also add more from a solid 4-5 JV squad a year ago. The depth that the team showcases should help across the board. Key returners include Lucas Schwenn, Eli Khoury, Collin Richardson and Jack Rittenberry.

Royal Oak won two of its last three games to end 2024 and looks to carry that over to 2025. While returners Liam Flemming, Gage Orzel, Caden Scott and Javien Johnson look to impact both sides of the ball again this year, the team does lack size and will have to address that to compete in a difficult OAA.

Pontiac High School has only won more than one game in a season once since the team’s 6-4 2011 season, and that was a 3-6 year in 2023. Last year, the program went back to a 1-8 record and wants to make sure that doesn’t become a trend again. Pontiac will return 10 starters including Deandre Johnson, Bryce Brown and Dionte Jones, but questions surrounding depth will remain.

Big things, small things, life-changing things, we’re here to make your health better.

Festival

from page 1A

Event Producer Jon Witz said that the music lineup for the weekend was chosen based on 600 submissions, and only the top 150 were picked to perform.

“I think we’ve got some great original bands that are headlining across many music genres. We are excited about the Neon Trees, Randy Howser, Sugar Ray and you know, I Love the 90s Tour,” Witz said. “We think it’s going to be an amazingly fun time to close the show on Monday with Vanilla Ice and many others.”

Joining Vanilla Ice with the I Love the 90s Tour to close the festival will be Rob Base, Young MC and C+C Music Factory.

Witz said that along with the headliners, audiences can expect to hear more moving performances from cover bands and tribute acts.

“I will say the tribute acts that we have, one or more each night, will be playing some of the best-sounding music of the weekend,” Witz said. “They really do the bands of the music they play justice.”

R&B singer turned rock star Terri Shü said that she is debuting her new sound of rock music with her band “Shü” at Arts, Beats & Eats. Shu’s grandfather was Motown great William Guest, of Gladys Knight and the Pips.

Shü’s career took off as an R&B singer, which was the music she previously performed at Arts Beats & Eats, but as of early 2024, she is now in a rock band.

“I usually didn’t do rock music back in

Center

from page 3A

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 resi-

the day with the circumstances of my grandfather being in a Motown group, Gladys Knight and the Pips, so they automatically categorized me in R&B for a while, and I recently branched back into alternative,” she said.

Shü said she started singing alternative music when she was in high school and wanted to get back to her alternative roots instead of continuing in the R&B genre.

“I guess the reason why I made that big switch, well, I guess it was a big switch to everybody else, is basically me getting back to my roots, rather than sticking with something that I wasn’t 100% in it in my heart,” she said. “Alternative is truly who I am.”

Through her band’s performance of covers and original music at Arts, Beats & Eats, Shü hopes her band can bring a carefree experience to the audience.

“I want to portray a carefree, I-don’tgive-a-heck environment, and that Black people can love rock too. I don’t like the stigma of Black people not listening to rock music, because a lot of us do,” she said. “I want to portray the freedom of loving music, and being carefree. I want to make the audience know it’s OK to do things outside of the box, and be a little crazy sometimes.”

Arts, Beats & Eats will be open 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29, through Sunday, Aug. 31, and 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 1. Tickets will be sold for $7 in advance. Admission is free before 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, and $12 after 5 p.m. Every other day, admission costs $10 before 3 p.m. and $12 after 3 p.m. Cash and credit card transactions will be accepted at gate entrances. For more information, visit artsbeatseats.com.

dents 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.