The Kresge Foundation and PNC Bank have announced $57.3 million in financing for the School at Marygrove in northwest Detroit.

The financing package will support the conversion of the Liberal Arts and Immaculata buildings of the former Marygrove College into K-12 facilities for the Kresge-funded P-20 educational continuum. Managed by the nonprofit Marygrove Conservancy, the 53-acre campus is being designed in collaboration with the surrounding Livernois-McNichols community as an educational, economic, and civic anchor in its revitalization. The continuum ultimately will span prenatal to pre-K in the Marygrove Early Education Center, operated by Starfish Family Services; K-12 in the School at Marygrove under Detroit Public Schools Community District in collaboration with the University of Michigan School of Education; postsecondary graduate education; and wraparound services and community engagement programs.

PNC is providing the financing through a combination of lending and tax credits as part of its Main Street banking model, which is built around understanding and supporting the unique needs of local communities. In addition, as part of its $500 million Grow Up Great initiative, the PNC Foundation provided the conservancy with a $40,000 grant in support of the Marygrove Early Education Center, which opened in September and serves 144 children and their families. Kindergarten classes will open next year in the renovated Immaculata High School/Bates Academy building, and the school will see its first graduating class in the spring of 2023.

“Over the years, PNC and the Kresge Foundation have collaborated on a number of significant efforts to benefit Detroit and Wayne County residents, including $2.5 million in joint grants to support improvements in early childhood education facilities in Detroit in collaboration with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,” said Ric DeVore, PNC regional president for Detroit and southeast Michigan. “This transformational project, which will serve hundreds of school-aged children and their families, will play a significant role in revitalizing and providing critical resources to the Livernois-McNichols community.”

(Photo credit: Kresge Foundation)