Functional Uses

The East Core Area is located to the south of the Innovation District. It is bound by Hubbard Street, the walking paths connecting Hayward Street to Hubbard Street, Beal Avenue extending northward, parking lot NC-19, and Huron Parkway. It encompasses several academic and research facilities and surface parking lots. It functions as an extension of the academic and research heart of North Campus. The units represented within the East Core Area include Michigan Engineering and surface parking. The DTE APEX Electrical Substation, which provides dedicated high-voltage services to all of North Campus, is located within the East Core Area.

Development Opportunities

A new long-term development zone is proposed in the East Core Area linking research activity from the Central Core Area (such as at Ford Motor Company Robotics Building) with future new research to the north in the proposed Innovation District. The focus for the remaining area is on renovation and renewal of existing facilities.

Landscape and Public Realm

The most notable yet hidden landscape feature in the East Core Area is the Wave Field, designed by Maya Lin. Completed in 1995, the Wave Field is a landform sculpture inspired by a naturally occurring oceanic wave phenomenon. The surrounding woodlands define the East Core Area. The framework plan includes reforestation as a way of linking the wooded areas north of Hayward Street with those to the east along Huron Parkway.

Mobility and Connectivity

The East Core Area is connected to the adjacent Central Core Area and the Innovation District by means of new pathways proposed in the HaywardHubbard wooded areas with the goal of linking the academic and research activities with those of surrounding sub-campus areas. The existing Hayward-Hubbard intersection is reconfigured in the plan to align Hayward in a northerly direction, continuing as the new circulation road adjacent to the west side of NCRC. Proposed BRT lanes are proposed along existing and extended Beal Avenue in the East Core Area providing links to the proposed Pierpont Transit Station.

Sustainability and Infrastructure

Reforestation in the East Core Area promotes ecosystem connectivity with the Hayward-Hubbard wooded area. To that end, reforestation is proposed over the long term on existing surface parking lot NC-53 and portions of NC-46. The intended outcome is better woodlot connectivity between the East Core Area and the Innovation DistrictNorthwood Area. Along with reforestation, additional stormwater management infrastructure should be considered as appropriate.

Major infrastructure proposed for the East Core Area includes a utility corridor extending from Draper Road westward toward the Central Core (south of the Engineering Programs Building). The purpose of the corridor is to connect the geo-exchange bores and ground source heat pump fields proposed under the existing surface parking lot at NC51 with the North Campus Chiller Plant and beyond the Central Core.