University of Michigan lining up donors for new outpatient cancer center

A new outpatient cancer treatment center, including a hotel and conference center, will be a reality at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Center if Max Wicha gets his way, Crain’s Detroit Business reported.

Wicha, director of U-M’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been lining up donors for the project for a year, Crain’s reported. He told the publication university officials support the project. He hopes to break ground in two years and finish the project in five.

U-M is creating a hub of cancer expertise at the NCRC. The university announced in August that it was creating the Translational Oncology Program at the NCRC. U-M said it would consist of up to 40 researchers and would attempt to better bridge the gap between scientific research and new patient treatments.

The NCRC is the former home of Pfizer in Ann Arbor. U-M bought the complex, consisting of 2.2 million square feet, in 2009. In November of 2012, the university said roughly 1,700 people were working at the complex.

• Read the Crain’s Detroit Business report.