Michigan State University had big plans when they purchased the old home of the Grand Rapids Press on 155 Michigan Street NE back in 2012, out with ink and paper and in with a new Biomedical Research Center.

The demolition project was approved December 12th by the MSU board of trustees. Tear down of the 175,384 square foot building is scheduled to begin this spring and finish at the tail-end of 2015. It will cost three million dollars for the building to be destroyed and the debris taken away.

Built back in 1966, the Grand Rapids Press building served as the headquarters until 2012 when Michigan State bough the property. The property was bought with the hopes to expand their West Michigan research presence after opening the Secchia Center in 2010. The new 50 million dollar Biomedical Research Center is expected to be 145,000 square-feet and five or six stories tall.

The scheduled finish date is the end of 2017.

It’s another exciting development for Grand Rapids and an ever-expanding initiative to bring more top-notch scientists into the area.