The Apple Inc. and Michigan State University developer training hub will be located in Dan Gilbert’s First National Building in downtown Detroit, Crain’s has learned.
A building permit application filed with the city in early April and obtained by Crain’s on Friday morning identifies a project in the building at 660 Woodward Ave. as a “developers academy” and names Anthony Rhodes, a Michigan State University project manager, as a contact for the occupant.
The permit says the project is on the second and third floors of the building and encompasses some 37,000 square feet.
That space used to be occupied by United Way for Southeastern Michigan, which moved into the Fisher Building in the city’s New Center area when its First National Building lease expired in March 2019.
This marks the first time the academy’s location has been identified, although it’s been reported that the academy would go in Gilbert-owned space in the city.
Gilbert’s Bedrock LLC real estate development, ownership, management and leasing company, declined to comment for this story. Messages seeking comment were left Friday morning with spokespeople for Michigan State and Apple.
Employees of general contractor Albert M. Higley Co., which has an office in Detroit, as well as Detroit-based Neumann/Smith Architecture are listed on the document as applicant and consultant, respectively.
Based on the building permit cost, construction covered by the permit is estimated at $1.41 million.
In April, the MSU board gave the administration approval to execute a long-term lease for space and build it out. The university plans to fund the project through philanthropy, according to an April board agenda. Apple confirmed it will provide in-kind computer equipment and technical support.
Billed as a first-of-its-kind effort in North America, the academy is admitting about 100 students to the free one-year program in its when it launches its first cohort this fall, with about 200 students in the years following, Crain’s reported earlier this month.
Around 100 students will be accepted for the free one-year program in the first year, followed by a class of 200 students in subsequent years
MSU has been attempting to broaden its footprint in Detroit, and the Cupertino, Calif.-based tech Goliath is launching the Apple Developer Academy as part of its $100 million national racial equity and justice initiative. It’s the first such academy in the U.S., although its first worldwide launched in Naples, Italy, in 2016.
The program covers coding, design, entrepreneurship and other professional skills “within Apple’s ecosystem,” Sarah Gretter, associate director for MSU’s Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology, told Crain’s earlier this month.
The academy in Detroit is open to anyone 18 years and older, but priority will be given to city residents.
It will offer students a certificate of completion and exposure to opportunities in the tech industry. That could include jobs with Apple, internships, building startups and furthering education.
Gilbert bought the First National Building in 2011 for $8.1 million for its approximately 850,000 square feet and spent about $100 million renovating it.
