In early 2023, it was announced that the Detroit Pistons, Henry Ford Health, Michigan State University, and billionaire businessman Tom Gores had teamed up to create an interconnected, walkable, health-conscious community within Detroit’s New Center neighborhood. The groundbreaking took place this past May, and the plan is projected to take a decade to complete.
In the end, Henry Ford Hospital’s main campus will enjoy a major expansion across West Grand Boulevard that will include, in part, a new patient tower and a $335 million research facility. Also expect contemporary residential, commercial, and retail spaces and possibly a hotel.
It all feels almost overwhelmingly grand. Still, the proprietors promise a commitment to community throughout the process and a proactive approach to healthy living.
“This entire project is for the people of Detroit,” notes Barry Blackwell, manager of community relations for Henry Ford Health. “Even before we publicly announced the project, we met with members of the community to learn their priorities. They told us they want their neighborhood to feel walkable, welcoming, and interconnected, and that is reflected in our plans. Their input shaped our vision for the hospital campus.”
He says Henry Ford’s engagement team has hosted more than 100 community meetings since the project was announced.
The venture will see to the construction of a centralized community park and accompanying green spaces, along with free and accessible basketball courts. The latter will sit just south of the Henry Ford Detroit Pistons Performance Center. A Henry Ford Health spokesperson says, “Our efforts are focused on creating a vibrant and dynamic urban environment … that can be used for programming by our organizations and the community.”
A Joint Effort
A more low-key but no less potentially impactful project is Priority Health’s undertaking to erect free and accessible fitness courts across Michigan. In 2019, alongside other big-name health care providers, Priority Health joined the National Fitness Campaign, an enterprise that aims to build healthy communities and schools with open-air fitness courts as the center point.
As of early August, 21 courts have been built so far, including ones in Madison Heights, Highland Park, Redford Township, Lansing, and Lincoln Park and even one nestled on Belle Isle. Visitors won’t find dumbbells, kettlebells, or convoluted machinery. Instead, the fitness courts feature seven stations that can be completed in just seven minutes and are designed to allow users to “leverage their own body weight to get a complete workout,” says Praveen Thadani, president and CEO of Priority Health. “They’re made with best-in-class materials, … designed and engineered to withstand the elements in every environment. And so across all seasons that we experience in Michigan, they are still usable.”
Community members can also download the Fitness Court app to serve as a digital coach of sorts.
Priority Health plans to have 30 fitness courts up and operational by the end of 2025, and that’s only the beginning. The hope is that when they’re finished, a third of Michiganders will have access to one of these courts. Whether physical, logistical, or emotional, the barriers to health are real, and Thadani says, “The campaign works to address the obesity epidemic by removing barriers to exercise and improving quality of life … regardless of financial status, regardless of their ethnic status, regardless of their fitness level or age.”
This story originally appeared in the October 2024 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Our digital edition will be available on Oct. 7.
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