Life Remodeled and Arcadis Team Up to Transform Detroit’s Durfee Elementary-Middle School into a Community Innovation Center

DETROIT, April 26, 2018 -- Arcadis, a leading design and consultancy firm, and Life Remodeled, a Detroit-based non-profit that invests in community rehabilitation, today announced a partnership to repurpose Detroit’s Durfee Elementary‐Middle School into a Community Innovation Center.  The center will provide recreation, after‐school programming, and career counseling for Detroit Public School students by providing real‐world educational experiences. 

The 143,000 square-foot school building was erected in 1927 and in need of a major renovation and building improvements to be functional.  As part of its partnership with Life Remodeled and its commitment to the Detroit community, Arcadis is providing pro-bono support including engineering design and consulting services to support the building transformation.  This includes expertise and guidance to assess and remediate asbestos and lead based paint, health and safety assessments and planning, property conditions assessments, space planning and architectural design, and insulation design.

“Arcadis is excited to be partnering with Life Remodeled and contribute our engineering expertise to the Durfee project,” said Jackie Saling, principal engineer and associate vice president, Arcadis.  “The City of Detroit is near and dear to myself and to Arcadis, so this pro-bono support and work with Life Remodeled aligns perfectly with the company’s core values and our mission to improve the quality of life here.  We look forward to growing our relationship with Life Remodeled and fostering opportunities for economic growth, education and entrepreneurship in the City of Detroit.”

The Community Innovation Center will operate in collaboration with nearby Central High School and the Detroit Public Schools Community District to provide hands-on education to students.  Entrepreneurs will guest lecture in classrooms and students will have the opportunity to learn subjects, such as math and finance, with real examples from case studies of business ventures taking place within the center.  Community members of all ages will have access to resources and space to learn about entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.  The center will also serve as community and recreational space for families and children.

The initiative was recently recognized with a project award by Arcadis as part of its Pro Bono program.  The program provides opportunity for Arcadis employees their success with other organizations and give back to the communities where they live and work.  With nearly 30 applications submitted across North America, Pro Bono project award recipients exemplify passion for improving the quality of life across the United States and Canada.

About Arcadis

Arcadis is the leading global design and consultancy firm for natural and built assets. Applying our deep market sector insights and collective design, consultancy, engineering, project and management services we work in partnership with our clients to deliver exceptional and sustainable outcomes throughout the lifecycle of their natural and built assets. We are 27,000 people active in over 70 countries that generate $3.5 billion in revenues. Arcadis. Improving quality of life. www.arcadis.com

Media Contacts: Brad Jones, 303-471-3453, [email protected]