The Henry Ford Health Systems and the Detroit Pistons broke ground on what is to be the Henry Ford-Detroit Pistons Performance Center.  The ceremony took place on Oct. 23 and kicks off the development of a 100,000 square-foot facility that will serve as the Detroit Piston’s practice facility and corporate headquarters, and is slated for completion in June 2019.

This joint venture between the Pistons Performance LLC and the Henry Ford Health System will total over $107 million, and has already been approved for $16 million in tax incentives by the Michigan Strategic Fund Board and the Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.  Along with basketball training, the center will feature retail and dining space, a parking ramp and sports medicine offices. 

The team, which had played and practiced in Auburn Hills, MI for the last 40 years, will now be playing games at the newly constructed Little Caesars Arena (LCA), located just two miles down the street from where the new practice facility will be built.   The LCA finished construction earlier this year, and is also the home of the Detroit Red Wings.  In addition to hockey and basketball games, the arena also hosts major concerts and events, and features state of the art technology and amenities.  The area around the LCA and the new performance facility, known as The District Detroit, is home to restaurants and retail space, as well as Comerica Park and Ford Field.  

PM Environmental performed extensive environmental work at the site, including a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), Ground Penetrating Radar Survey, Baseline Environmental Assessment (BEA) and Due Care Plans.  Additional environmental work, such as Environmental Construction Oversight, will be ongoing during the development, and will include the cleanup of contaminated soils.  The approved tax incentives will help to defray the cleanup costs.

“We are so excited to be part of this major new development in the midtown area, and to support the Piston’s move back to downtown Detroit,” said Mike Kulka, CEO and Co-Founder of PM Environmental.

More on the new facility in the Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons hope new practice center becomes hub…