Henry Ford Health brings new energy to downtown project

The central energy hub supports Henry Ford Health’s goal of achieving net zero by 2050.

Image courtesy of Kiewit Development Co.

Detroit-based Henry Ford Health is putting its commitment to sustainability on full display. Construction of a new hospital building, patient tower and supporting facilities is underway at Destination: Grand, an expansion project of the health system’s flagship hospital located on Detroit’s West Grand Boulevard. Heating and cooling of the new facilities will be provided by a four-story, 30,000-square-foot central energy hub (CEH).

“The CEH can operate as a fully electric, net-zero heating and cooling facility from Day One,” says Sam Chai, president of Kiewit Development Co., the developer and sole equity investor for the CEH project. 

The innovative equipment stack will include high-efficiency electric boilers, chillers and heat pumps working in tandem with a state-of-the-art energy management system. The hub will allow the system to limit and eventually fully avoid natural gas usage in the new facilities. That means those buildings, including the CEH itself, will produce zero fossil fuels or emissions. 

This will help Henry Ford meet its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% in 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. “By leveraging advanced controls and real-time monitoring, we can ensure optimal performance and energy efficiency,” Chai adds.

Construction of the parking structure’s foundations has begun, and crews are currently preparing sites for the new hospital and shared services building. Vertical construction is scheduled to begin in the next few months. Chai says the CEH was also designed to accommodate possible future growth.

“One of our key goals was to create a CEH building that not only meets current needs but also includes flexibility for future expansion,” Chai says. “We optimized the size of the building to minimize upfront embodied carbon, which is crucial for sustainability. The design allows for modular expansion.”

Destination: Grand is directly across the street from the existing hospital, which will remain in operation. The CEH will have very limited impact on residents and has been designed to integrate seamlessly into the surrounding community.

“We chose the location and design for the CEH after a lot of thoughtful planning,” says Jerry Darby, vice president of campus planning, development and design at Henry Ford Health. “The entire facility will be [enclosed behind screens] and meets all noise requirements for a residential neighborhood. It’s crucial we are both good environmental stewards and good neighbors.”

The CEH project is expected to be completed in 2027.