The site of the former Kmart world headquarters in Troy will soon see new life as the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Troy Center for Specialty Care, a state-of-the-art medical center slated to open in the spring of 2027.
The facility is partly the result of a $40 million donation to Michigan Medicine on behalf of Kenneth Eisenberg, whose philanthropy to the University of Michigan, together with his wife, Frances Eisenberg (who died in November 2024), now exceeds $80 million.
Nathan Forbes, managing partner of Forbes/Frankel Troy Ventures LLC, which bought the property in 2009, says, “We’re extending first-class medical care to the heart of Oakland County.” The $250 million facility is also Michigan Medicine’s first outpost in the county.
“It’s a culmination of 17 years of waiting for the right partner and the right anchor tenant to help support [the Somerset Collection,] one of the great regional shopping centers in America,” Forbes said at the groundbreaking celebration in August. “We need to extend the [Forbes] brand beyond the 275 border. And what better place in the center of Oakland County than Big Beaver and Coolidge Highway? It is absolutely the No. 1 location in this entire community — in all of southeastern Michigan.”
The medical center will offer advanced specialty care for musculoskeletal disorders (including sports and physical medicine, rehabilitative services, and orthopedic surgery), cancer services (with a particular focus on breast, head and neck, skin, and urological cancers), and reproductive medicine.
Dr. Dee Ellen Fenner, the chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Bates professor of diseases of women and children at U-M, who will head the new Center for Reproductive Medicine, told Hour Detroit it “will allow us to expand our services to a broader population in Michigan, and that’s what we pride ourselves in doing.”
Her department’s focus, Fenner adds, will be not only helping patients achieve healthy pregnancy but also “providing care across that whole spectrum” of reproductive issues, from endocrine issues to cancer treatment, menopause health, delayed fertility, and so on.
At a time when women’s health in general — and reproductive health more specifically — has become increasingly politicized, with federal funding for reproductive health increasingly coming under threat in cases where it hasn’t already been cut outright, “It’s especially important … that Michigan Medicine continues to be a champion for women’s health,” Fenner says.
And while Fenner expects patients from “all over the state, as well as outside of the state,” to visit the new center and receive “this expert care,” she also stresses the importance of “local care.”
Once it’s up and running, the medical center as a whole is predicted to treat 200,000 patients each year. In the meantime, it is expected to create upwards of 375 construction jobs in union trade positions.
The first $25 million of Kenneth Eisenberg’s donation has been earmarked for the facility’s construction, while the remaining $15 million is slated for research on depression. In that regard, the contribution may be understood as an extension of a previous gift, which ultimately led to the naming of the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg and Family Depression Center in Ann Arbor.
“The Eisenbergs have made incredibly impactful investments in our university, especially in the critical area of mental health,” says interim U-M President Domenico Grasso. “With their support for the Troy center, we will continue to create the future of health care in our state and bring Michigan Medicine-level care to more people.”
The second portion of the donation will go toward awards for depression research, policy initiatives and educational events, and the implementation of a large-scale research initiative meant to identify and prevent drivers of depression in high-risk populations. The funding will also support the creation of two new professor positions, both endowed in perpetuity.
But in the immediate future, Forbes says his primary goal between now and the spring of 2027 is to “make sure [the University of] Michigan meets their timeline on the development of the project.” “During that period of time,” Forbes adds, “we will begin to bring forward development plans that will support their vision.”
This story originally appeared in the October 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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