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ACCESS proposes Innovation Center adjacent to Arab American National Museum in Dearborn
Summary
Representative Farhat presented ACCESS’s plan to convert a former bank into a centralized Innovation Center for education, workforce and entrepreneurial programming serving Northeast Detroit and Dearborn; the group seeks state funding for renovations and start‑up operating support.
Representative Farhat asked the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor and Economic Opportunity to consider funding for the Access Innovation Center, a new facility purchased last year on Michigan Avenue adjacent to the Arab American National Museum. The center would house offices, classrooms, workshops and community space intended to centralize ACCESS’s youth and educational programs, career and technical training and entrepreneurship supports for residents of Northeast Detroit and Dearborn.
The testimony said the building is an old bank that will be gutted and renovated, and that ACCESS expects community and donor support but regards state assistance as essential for the project to proceed. Representative Farhat said ACCESS partners with Michigan Works, the University of Michigan and Wayne State, and argued that consolidation will allow services to be delivered “much more efficiently.”
No formal motion or vote was recorded on the request during the hearing. Questions from committee members focused on whether the project could proceed without state funds, renovation versus demolition, and the types of training to be offered. The presentation did not include a final funding ask or timeline for construction.
The committee approved the meeting minutes at the start of the session; no other formal action was taken on this item during the hearing.
