Finally the U of M board of commissioners okayed the UMCI I would have been stunned if they didn’t but if it was delayed anymore I was going to seriously start worrying about the project. It’s not a mega project but it’s likely to have an outsized impact. At the very least another key piece in a list of projects along that are finally leveraging the city, state & region’s legacy of design, engineering & innovation to create new manufacturing and high tech jobs.
U of M has been making moves here’s a blurb and a link about a new public-private initiative launched in the spring that’s a counterpart at the other end of the Michigan Ave / 94 corridor along with the UMCI & Ford Campus.
The strikes have slowed momentum down but I can only sympathize with what the union is trying to do with in its greatly diminished form, running new EV manufacturing facilities with an ethos more in line with Amazon distribution centers isn’t a sustainable career for workers. At the same time the technology while there isn’t truly ready as long as the supporting infrastructure isn’t standardized and rolled out on a national scale. The same pressures to maximize profits to maximize stock price and dividends has rewarded outsourcing since the much of US industry was taken over by what we’d called venture capital groups now back in the 80’s. The companies that weren’t had major pressure to get with the program or bite the dust, it’s only now that policy makers are realizing the national security implications of outsourcing so much of our industry.
All that said the domestic competition is fierce and politicized the large numbers and high concentration of STEM workers plays well in Detroit & the Great Lakes region’s favor as well as the economic infrastructure in place. The state has done well to gather large parcels of land for development helping to even the playing field but the lower overhead in the south is a calculus that could play well in its favor if they’re able to build up comprehensive and concentrated manufacturing infrastructure making logistics of more favorable.
Though for the first time in over a generation geography seems to be smiling on the Great Lakes as the new study by the department of the interior pointing to the US side of Lake Superior possibly containing as much Nickel as Russia or Canada is is heartening to hear. A 21st century revival of the new version of the industrial economy that made the city, state and region a global powerhouse is a tantalizing prospect. A personal hope of mine is to see the conceptualized use of old mines for pumped hydro power similar to The Project in Ludington which is essentially one of the worlds largest batteries could provide a unique renewable source of energy.
The Semiconductor Talent and Automotive Research (STAR) initiative is led by semiconductor company KLA and Belgium-based technology innovation hub imec.
https://ece.engin.umich.edu/stories/...sed-initiative
Great to see the Bonstelle project underway it’s a very good looking project, the riverwalk now spanning from bridge to bridge is a huge milestone. The Music Hall expansion is looking like something it could be something really exciting and help fill in a missing piece in Detroit with space set aside to honor our broader musical heritage. I like the renderings the new one is interesting for sure, Tod Williams is a great choice for the architect.
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