Van Andel Institute expansion complete

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – Major changes in the Grand Rapids city skyline could mean hundreds of new jobs in what's known as the 'medical mile.'

The Van Andel Institute has virtually doubled in size, and officials there are hoping that the next big medical breakthrough will come from Grand Rapids as they cut the ribbon on the expansion.

After three and a half years of construction, the Van Andel Institute's $178 million expansion is complete. Soon, more than 50 labs will be filled with doctors and researchers looking for cures for various diseases.

The new eight-story building is now becoming the centerpiece of Grand Rapids' medical mile.

“We actually become a research hub, what we do gets transferred out to the hospitals up the street and down the way here,” said David Van Andel, Chair and CEO of the Van Andel Institute. “So they're working hand in hand with our docs and scientists on the side with the medical teams and docs on that side.”

Many of the discoveries made in the Van Andel Institute will move into clinical trials at Grand Rapids hospitals. The institute will also work with the new Michigan State University Medical School, which is set to open across the street in 2010.