Mar 21, 2004

Copyright Grand Rapids Press Mar 21, 2004

Davenport University's campus and two sites along Michigan Street near Spectrum Health's Butterworth campus are getting the most attention as speculation heats up over where Michigan State University might locate its medical school.

Despite the guessing game, Grand Rapids won't know for sure if MSU will give the green light to moving all or a portion of its College of Human Medicine from East Lansing until May.

If it does come here, big questions remain about the scope of facilities that may be necessary, how much land is needed, and who would pay for buildings and land acquisition.

" Nobody knows yet whether or not you will need classrooms, dormitories, laboratories, because it depends on what they bring, when they bring it and how they can create a win-win for Lansing and Grand Rapids," said Peter Secchia, chairman of Universal Forest Products and a staunch backer of MSU.

Among the locations most frequently mentioned for a medical school building or complex are:
-- The Fulton Street campus of Davenport, which is planning to open a campus in Caledonia Township in fall 2005;
-- A proposed medical office complex bounded by Michigan Street and Int. 196, Union and Paris avenues;
-- The Towers Medical building, parking ramp and a neighboring state-owned surface lot.

These sites have the advantage of being near Grand Rapids' growing life-sciences corridor, although Davenport carries the cache of being nearly equidistant between Saint Mary's and Spectrum Health hospitals where medical students would train.

They are not the only sites being tossed into the conversation. Other sites that could enter the mix include:
-- A group of properties west of Saint Mary's Mercy Medical Center;
-- The former Junior Achievement site and, across the street, the closed city parking ramp at Fulton Street and Division Avenue.
-- A large riverfront parking lot controlled by the DeVos family south of Fulton and west of Market Avenue.
-- Undeveloped land between Monroe Avenue and the Grand River just north of Int. 196 owned by Kent County and The Grand Rapids Press.

" Obviously there's been speculation around everyone in the business about where they could locate the med school," said Ray Kisor, a commercial real estate agent and downtown property owner. "It's a wonderful, wonderful opportunity for this community."

If MSU does decide to move all or part of its school to Grand Rapids, there's little doubt that Grand Action -- the group responsible for DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena -- will have some role to play.

Grand Action Co-Chairman John Canepa said the group is willing to consider adding an MSU project to its agenda.

Canepa said the Davenport campus seems to be the best fit because it is potentially available and sits between the Spectrum Health and Saint Mary's.

" My suspicion is some of that Davenport campus will move out to the South Beltline, and there might be some available land," said Canepa. "I think it's important that the med school addresses all of the hospital facilities as opposed to a specific hospital."

A major reason MSU is considering its move is because of the area's larger hospital systems and patient base.
The university also wants to tap the area's philanthropic base and bolster its status as a research center by closer affiliation with the local hospitals and Van Andel Research Institute.

Davenport officials, who have said the university will maintain at least a presence on Fulton, would not rule out a deal with MSU.

" We have not had any communications with MSU," said Deb Bloom, spokeswoman for Davenport. "We always welcome opportunities to collaborate with other institutions."

The Davenport site along with spots along Michigan Street near Spectrum could be a good fit, said Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell.

" What's clear is that it needs to be close to hospitals, and it needs to be large enough to allow them to have adequate classrooms and administrative and office space, and the labs they need," Heartwell said. "So it starts to limit the options."

The College of Human Medicine, one of three MSU med schools in East Lansing, has 447 students and 140 faculty members.

Spectrum Health President and CEO Rick Breon said MSU officials probably will want an academic building that is close to the hospital. He emphasized Spectrum will not be involved in site selection or paying for MSU's move.

MSU College of Human Medicine students have studied at Grand Rapids hospitals since the school opened in 1966.

Private developers of the two Michigan Street sites were less ambiguous about their desire to work with MSU.

" Do we think we've got great site for them? I think it's more than a great site," said Brad Rosely, a commercial real estate agent who assembled six acres for a medical office complex proposed by a Chicago businessman.

" I think it's an outstanding opportunity because it's right next to Spectrum and kind of right down the street from Saint Mary's," he said.

The site is the farthest from downtown, but could be ready for redevelopment by this summer.

Joe Hooker, who is working on redevelopment of the Towers Medical complex, 21 Michigan St. NE, for site owners AP Capital, said plans could be adjusted to include MSU.

" My understanding is they haven't firmly started any site selection process," Hooker said. "But, when appropriate, we certainly would like to be considered."

A medical school at the Towers site likely would require the use of a state-owned surface lot on adjacent property. The site could be too closely linked with Spectrum for Saint Mary's tastes, however.

Saint Mary's Mercy Medical Center President and CEO Phil McCorkle said he prefers a "neutral" site.
Such a move would follow the spirit of an agreement between Spectrum and Saint Mary's that the hospitals will not compete in research and medical education, he said.

Putting the med school across from the Spectrum campus would be less convenient for those working at Saint Mary's and create a perception that it is more closely affiliated with one hospital, he said.

Deputy City Manager Eric Delong said the city and other West Michigan players are doing their best to avoid putting the cart before the horse.

MSU President Peter McPherson's announcement that it was considering moving one of its three medical schools out of East Lansing was met with resistance from some capital-area leaders who fear it could harm the area's economy and health care offerings.

" First of all, I think we have to get past May when President McPherson is going to let us know whether they are going to bring some of the medical school here to Grand Rapids," Delong said. "Certainly we hope that will happen."