December 14, 2018
10 years ago today, U-M announced intent to create North Campus Research Complex
University took over the site and its 28 buildings, with nearly 2 million gross square feet of space, in June 2009
Ten years ago today, U-M leaders made the first announcement that the university intended to buy a vacant Pfizer research campus near North Campus, and transform it into a hub for innovative research partnerships and more.
That 174-acre site, bought for $108 million, is now known as the North Campus Research Complex (NCRC). Today, it’s home to dozens of U-M laboratories and offices, Michigan Medicine’s clinical pathology operation, U-M spinoff companies, the M-City proving ground for connected and automated vehicles, and a VA Ann Arbor health care research center.
Thousands of U-M faculty, staff and students now work at NCRC every day — far more than worked for Pfizer in its entire Ann Arbor operation during its heyday.
The December 2008 announcement of the intent to purchase the site followed months of planning. U-M took over the site and its 28 buildings, with nearly 2 million gross square feet of space, in June 2009.
Learn more about what has happened at NCRC over the past decade in its annual reports.