A recommitment to our hometown as the epicenter of our mission and a launchpad for the next century of work in American cities

Work & Community SPace

Where Place and Purpose Meet.

Nestled within the historic Marygrove Conservancy campus in Northwest Detroit’s Fitzgerald neighborhood, Kresge’s futue home will be more than a workplace: it’s a manifestation of our mission to expand equity and opportunity in America’s cities. Already a vibrant community hub for cradle-to-career educational and enrichment programming, the campus reflects Kresge’s deep commitment to place-based investment, community partnership, and long-term neighborhood vitality.

Campus

Where History Inspires the Future.

Building on Kresge’s decade-long commitment to Marygrove, new investments will reinvigorate the campus through thoughtful landscape design, pedestrian pathways and sustainable infrastructure while honoring the site’s heritage and addressing modern environmental challenges. The vision: model equitable development where education, arts and community converge.

Neighborhood

In Detroit. With Detroit. For Detroit.

The neighborhood initiative embodies our vision to lead with values and invest in place. It’s designed to bring Detroiters together and spark innovation while supporting affordable housing, small business development, and community-led solutions across Northwest Detroit neighborhoods. Our approach centers resident voices to shape change, ensuring local priorities drive investments that strengthen families and promote quality of life.

Milestones in Motion

Kresge’s transformative commitment to the Livernois-McNichols corridor is starting to take shape, but our vision is clear. It’s a journey we’re poised and ready to take with our neighbors, with our community partners, and with our hometown.

Summer 2025

Neighborhood Summits

Kresge hosts intensive community summits across Northwest Detroit neighborhoods. Starting with co-creating a vision with residents, alongside the Live6 Alliance and the Marygrove Conservancy, ensures that our shared commitments honor their priorities and transform ideas into action.

September 2025

Project Announced

Kresge Foundation Board Chair Cecilia Muñoz, President & CEO Rip Rapson, and Detroit Program Managing Director Wendy Lewis Jackson at the announcement of Kresge's $180 million investment in Northwest Detroit.

Kresge proudly unveils the news to the public, sharing our comprehensive vision for transformative campus and neighborhood investments. This announcement celebrates years of community partnership and launches the next chapter of place-based philanthropy in Detroit’s evolving landscape.

2026

Fulfilling Commitments

We are building on what we’ve heard from residents to implement an initial set of strategies focused on supporting families planning to stay. This includes the Resident Investment and Opportunity Fund providing residents with a single point of entry to resources for home repair, heirs property legal assistance and property tax relief.

2026

Fulfilling Commitments

Livernois McNichols Action Agenda is a community-informed framework developed to guide the next 5-10 years of investment in the five neighborhoods adjacent to Marygrove. It builds on more than a decade of past planning and engagement and prioritizes what long-term residents have said they want for their neighborhoods. 

2026

Fulfilling Commitments

Neighborhood Association Operating Grants were awarded in the spring to support resident engagement and community-led projects at 10 legacy volunteer-led neighborhood associations.

2027

Groundbreaking

Design work is underway with groundbreaking planned for spring 2027.

Why Marygrove?

The Marygrove campus has long been a place of learning, resilience, and leadership in Northwest Detroit. Once home to Marygrove College, the campus now houses a cradle-to-career educational ecosystem and a growing network of nonprofits and community partners. Kresge intends to build on that legacy—strengthening the campus as a hub for opportunity while honoring the history, values and people who have shaped it for generations.

Our Commitment to Neighborhood Priorities

Residents have told us they don’t want another plan without action. That’s why we’ve teamed up with partners to support the Livernois-McNichols Neighborhoods Action Agenda and have committed to honor community priorities: vacant land stewardship, housing, commercial corridors, and public realm improvements.

Our Commitment to Sustainability

As builders of Michigan’s second LEED-platinum building, prioritizing sustainability is core to who we are. We will pursue the highest sustainability measures while advancing environmental performance, resource efficiency and long-term resilience across the campus and into surrounding neighborhoods to improve quality of life for residents, visitors, neighbors and staff.

Media Gallery

Recap: Our Sept. 12 announcement event

Introducing Kresge @ Marygrove

Watch the PathBreakers podcast, where Rip Rapson shares more about the project and the neighborhood commitment.

Built on a Community of Partnership

Marygrove Conservancy

Lead Campus Partner: Established in 2018, the nonprofit Marygrove Conservancy stewards a 53-acre campus in northwest Detroit, formerly Marygrove College. It leads a landmark P-20 initiative to build a cradle-to-career educational hub, anchoring revitalization with integrated academics and community services.

Live6 Alliance

Lead Neighborhood Partner: The nonprofit organization Live6 Alliance develops programs, initiatives and strategies that increase economic opportunity and promote an enhanced quality of life in Northwest Detroit through strategic investment, corridor infrastructure improvements, small business support, and economic growth initiatives.

urbanAC

Neighborhood Engagement Partner: The community engagement and urban planning consultancy urbanAC partners with public agencies, institutions, and developers to design equitable, culturally responsive processes. Services include stakeholder mapping, facilitation, surveys, storytelling, and implementation support for planning and capital projects.

Detroit Collaborative Design Center

Community Engagement Partner: DCDC is a nonprofit, university-based design and planning practice at the University of Detroit Mercy. It partners with residents, nonprofits, and public agencies to co-create equitable neighborhood plans, civic spaces, and buildings through engagement, urban design, and facilitation.

DS+R

Design Architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro is an interdisciplinary NY–based architecture studio that focuses on cultural and civic projects to address the changing role of institutions and the future of cities. Signature projects include the High Line, an adaptive reuse of an elevated railway into an urban park, the Lincoln Center redevelopment, The Broad, and The Shed.

Hood Design Studio

Landscape Architect: Often described as a cultural practice, the Oakland-based studio HOOD Design Studio is led by Walter Hood, who blends everyday life into spaces that feel personal, historical, and alive. Notable works include the African Ancestors Garden at the International African American Museum and Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing Park.

Hannah-Neumann/Smith

Architect of Record: The Detroit-based strategic partnership Hannah-Neumann/Smith, led by partner Beverly Hannah, delivers exceptional design and invests in the city’s revitalization—and is certified WBE.

Plante Moran Realpoint

Owner’s Representative: Led by Partner Nichole Blocker, the Detroit-based Realpoint team specializes in civic, education, healthcare, and corporate projects, providing project oversight and coordination with planning, scheduling, and procurement support.