"We believe it is the right strategy," Spicer said. While nearly all classes at Baker are being conducted virtually now, the pandemic did not disrupt the college's brick-and-mortar bet. The Baker Collge development was an idea conceived three or four years ago, Spicer said, when higher ed was confronting a saturated market and declining enrollments - much less sudden challenges than those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A residence hall is not part of the commuter campus plan.īaker College will join Oakland Community College in downtown Royal Oak, which has had a campus there since 1982. The development also includes a parking structure. Most executive employees, including President and CEO Bart Daig, will be based there as well. The Royal Oak campus will house around 1,500 students and between 50 and 100 employees, including teachers and staff. "We really want our students to be out and about in the community," Spicer said. There will be no ground-floor retail or even food service in the building. The college will be the sole tenant of the building, which will be made up of classrooms, labs and offices. It will be constructed with LEED Silver certification level materials and feature a glass façade and outdoor terraces. and Ann Arbor-based Edge Design Associates, is being privately financed by Baker, Spicer said. The development, being built by Macomb Township-based general contractor Colasanti Cos. "There's a sense of community and belonging which is an important component of our culture." "Royal Oak is diverse and welcoming, just like Baker College," Spicer said. So, Baker looked just north for a home it thought could freshen its appeal to young prospective students. The college initially targeted Ferndale for its new metro Detroit base, but the development was scrapped because of parking concerns. It also closed its Flint campus and moved those operations to Owosso. "We've always had a heavy adult presence."īaker, known for its flexible degrees in fields such as business and nursing, announced in early 2019 a plan to consolidate its campuses in Allen Park and Clinton Township to the one in Auburn Hills, which will be merged into Royal Oak on the site that was formerly home to Kinsey-Garrett Funeral Home.
"We've really shifted our philosophy to focus on traditional and transfer students," Spicer said. Planting a flag in Royal Oak also represents a new business strategy amid sliding enrollment. The new building is expected to open in fall 2022. The not-for-profit college confirmed Monday its plans for a seven-story, 80,000-square-foot building downtown at the corner of South Lafayette and Fifth Avenue - a development first reported in December 2019 that the college previously declined to discuss.ĬOO Jacqui Spicer told Crain's that construction started earlier this month and students and employees are being notified of the eventual move this week. We prefer to work with sites that have existing structures providing interim income and value-add or redevelopment potential, and we seek out well-built, distinctive, historic buildings with suitable dimensions for modernized renovation and conversion.Baker College has broken ground on a $51 million campus and administrative headquarters in Royal Oak that will be the culmination of a large-scale restructuring effort for one of the largest independent schools in Michigan.
We target projects that are sized above the capacity of casual investors and below the realm of institutional players (~$1-20M asset size). Our disciplined approach allows us to effectively manage risk while providing long term growth for our investors and neighbors alike. Inkwell drives value by connecting underutilized, character-rich assets with the established urban fabric and working with local communities to create contextually-appropriate developments. We use our local expertise to acquire property at a basis that allows for the creation of high-quality spaces at an attainable price point. Our investment strategy focuses on intimate knowledge of emerging neighborhoods. We believe in Detroit – and we aim to play a positive role in the city’s continued growth and development. We believe in cities – and we are dedicated to helping them thrive by developing new and re-purposed spaces in walkable, infill locations.
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