Midtown and Detroit are changing fast. Wayne State University is trying to keep up.

In August 2018, to help better position itself for these changes, the university began the creation of a new master plan that will shape the future look and function of its campus. It hired the planning firm DumontJanks, which has extensive experience working with universities, to be the lead consultant on the project.

The firm and university officials have given a series of public presentations over the last few months, and the general shape of the plan is becoming clear. Of course, there’s still many more details yet to be released.

Here are some key components and likely recommendations.

The ‘H’

The planners have focused much of their work on creating a more robust campus atmosphere—a challenge for any urban university. While Gullen Mall, the pedestrian-only pathway on Second Avenue between Warren and Palmer avenues, certainly feels like a university, many other parts of the campus are disconnected from the core.

“There’s currently a lack of clarity about how to come and visit the university,” Gregory Janks, co-founder of DumontJanks, said at a May presentation.

To achieve this, the planners call for enhancements along an H-like shape formed by Cass and Second avenues, and the cultural district—which contains the Detroit Institute of Arts and Charles H. Wright Museum—that bisects it along Warren Avenue.

Of the many proposals, perhaps the most important is improving the design of Gullen Mall. The plan suggests putting sidewalks along the exterior and greenspace in middle—currently it’s the other way around—to make the area more navigable and usable. Relocating the concrete paths would also allow for a single, large greenspace south of the Recreation Center.

Ricardo Dumont, the other co-founder of DumontJanks, called it “design by removal.”

“Collect all the green spaces together in the center so they mean something,” he said. “That will allow for more nonprogrammed space for students to use.”

On Cass, the planners recommend making the pavement from Prentis Hall to the Detroit Public Library, which is a major crossing point between Midtown and the campus, “a common unified idea.” This would involve streetscaping to create a wide, clear crossing across Cass and removing the cul-de-sac at the rear entrance of the library to turn it into a plaza.

The Detroit Institute of Arts across Woodward Avenue is also in the process of redesigning its front plaza—the WSU plan could be a natural extension of that corridor.

Traffic calming is an important part of the plan. The planners said they undertook a traffic study and the findings were clear: “Most of the streets, especially Warren and Anthony Wayne, are overbuilt for the amount of traffic they get,” Janks said. “There’s more pavement needed for the amount of cars.”

Warren Avenue is particularly problematic—it can sometimes take two light changes to cross and is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists. The planners propose narrowing the street by reducing traffic lanes from six to four and adding protected bike lanes, sidewalk space, and landscaping.

For Anthony Wayne Drive, the plan recommends reducing traffic lanes to two and widening the median and greenspace by 50 feet so that it could accommodate kiosks, benches, and other park-like amenities.

Developing Midtown

Part of enhancing this “H” will require creating stronger connections between some of the disparate buildings as far north as Baltimore Street and as far south as Willis Street. (And if you include the Mike Ilitch School of Business, as far south as Temple Street.)

A significant cause of this disconnect is I-94.

“Distances are relative,” Janks says. “If you’re walking through an urban environment, it’s no big deal. If you’re walking through a wasteland, every step is an effort. When you have to cross the highway, it doesn’t feel good.”

One ambitious proposal involves building a deck across I-94 which would allow for upward construction and a “street edge” to make it feel like any other city block. The planners say a deck could accommodate 655,000 square feet of space.

But they do admit that building on the freeway is likely many years away. The university would need property values in Midtown to be high enough to justify construction, as well as the approval of MDOT, which operates I-94.

The plan also identifies other development opportunities at several “gateways” along Cass. By building on already university-owned property, WSU could add 2.32 million square feet of space and thousands of beds.

Again, all this is hypothetical. In order to build on this scale, the university would need to raise millions of dollars in funding and probably partner with private developers or property management companies.

Concentrating activity

While DumontJanks has previewed a number of exciting potential developments, the nuts and bolts of the plan concern maximizing efficient use of buildings and spaces. “The preponderance of projects are much more internal and oriented towards reinvesting and reinvigorating the university’s existing building stock,” Janks told Curbed Detroit.

This part of the plan entails consolidating departments, upgrading building facilities, and demolishing others that have outlived their usefulness. “My guess is the university may be able to demolish 320,000 to 420,000 gross square feet of space without any diminishment in capacity,” Dumont said.

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That money can then be reinvested into buildings like State Hall, which contains a significant portion of the university’s classes. In addition to classroom improvements, the planners also identified “accessibility issues” at the building and recommend upgrading the elevators, among other changes.

Next steps

In June, the planners will present their findings to the WSU Board of Trustees for approval. Assuming it passes, there will be another public presentation as well as submission of the final document. DumontJanks says it expects its work to be completed by the end of the summer.

Then, after a more formal cost analysis, the less expensive and more pressing items will get moved on first. That includes Gullen Mall improvements, State Hall redevelopment, and creation of green space at Keast Commons on the west side of campus after demolition of the Deroy Apartments.

The plan itself is not prescriptive—there’s no timeline and the recommendations are largely form-based that can be implemented as resources become available.

“This is a framework that will allow us to have flexibility and includes a lot of data so we can understand impacts,” said Ashley Flintoff, director of planning and space management for WSU. “We’ll soon have a tool to make better, informed decisions.”

Several developments on campus are already underway and were decided on prior to this planning effort, such as the massive Gateway Performance Complex, relocation of the Mackenzie House, and a new basketball arena built in partnership with the Detroit Pistons.

However these plans roll out over the next months and years, it’s clear Wayne State will be in a much better position to grow and adapt alongside the city.