An eyesore of a hospital that once was the lifeblood of downtown Trenton is coming back to life in the form of a new medical center.
The nearly 10-acre property on the bank of the Detroit River is called Riverside Commons, and it will pump $12 million in new investment into Trenton and bring 163 permanent, full-time jobs when it opens, according to the Michigan Economic Growth Authority. It has approved a request from the Trenton Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to capture $2,224,250 in school and local taxes for the project.
Riverside Commons is moving into a refurbished building that housed Henry Ford Hospital, which closed in 2002 and "has become something of an eyesore," city administrator Bob Cady says.
Construction is expected to begin within days and will lead to a new exterior and renovation of the interior, including removal of asbestos. An opening date has not been set.
Riverside Commons will include doctors' offices on the front side, a rehabilitation facility in the center, and senior housing or eldercare to the rear of the property, on the riverfront. There may also be a teaching component for respiratory therapy students, Cady says.
A few years ago the city invested about $2 million in improvements to downtown that make it more attractive and easier to navigate for pedestrians and drivers.
"It's our hope that this will help our downtown area with the jobs that will be created and the traffic that will be generated," he says. "It could be a real shot in the arm for downtown."
Source: Bob Cady, city administrator, city of Trenton
Writer: Kim North Shine
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