GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Wednesday, Perrigo ceremoniously broke ground on its new North American Corporate Headquarters in Downtown Grand Rapids.
The office space will be part of Michigan State University's Innovation Park on Medical Mile, taking up the top three floors of the new building. The construction began earlier this year.
Of the 125,000 square foot building, Perrigo's headquarters will take up about 63,000 square feet for its office space. It will be home to about 170 Perrigo employees.
"Part of my mission is to create energy and excitement and attract talent, a diverse talent," said Murray Kessler, Perrigo's President and CEO, "That was harder in that rural setting, where you had a lot of the same folks, and many of them fantastic, but to get that new injection, I wanted to put us into an urban setting. A creative, collaborative environment that reflected who we are and where we want to be and in our self care transformation. We talked about different cities, but we didn't need to go beyond Grand Rapids."
Perrigo is a pharmaceutical company making many store brand options of self-care products. Its current headquarters are in Allegan. The new downtown investment is expected to add nearly 45-million dollars to the Grand Rapids Economy.
"Just from a standpoint of growth, I think you have several things that can happen here," said Mike VanGessel, CEO of Rockford Construction, "Certainly we're one step further down the North Monroe corridor. We know Spectrum is going to be building down here, so there's just that connectivity on that corridor, it's an access point to, to the Westside. I think in the broader sense of the growth, Perrigo is leading the way for other companies to consider what's happening here in the medical innovation district. That's really looking at what else can other groups come in? And how does that continue to grow our community?"
Kessler said he hopes this hub will become a catalyst for continued advancements in the self-care space.
Right Place, Inc., Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Michigan State University, Rockford Construction and the City of Grand Rapids collaborated on this project.
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