Some MidMichigan staff to move into old Sears space next spring

Come spring 2022, some 250 MidMichigan Health staff will have new digs, allowing them to walk the Midland Mall on their lunch break and perhaps partake in the local scenes. That’s what attracted MidMichigan Health officials to the former Sears building complex on Joe Mann Boulevard. 

MidMichigan Health has purchased the former Sears at the Midland Mall. The 60,000-square-foot building will be renovated into office space by Midland’s Three Rivers Corporation starting in approximately one month.

The large space will also work as flexible co-working space, a large conference space for retreats or department meetings, and hoteling offices for employees who work remotely or at another MidMichigan subsidiary. “Hoteling” office space means employees don’t have a specific assigned work space. Instead, they reserve office space when needed.

“The 16-18-foot ceilings make it feel very open and airy,” says Randall Sanborn, director of information technology for MidMichigan Health. “It’s like a blank canvas for us. We can build out offices and conference rooms. There will be dedicated spaces for staff to co-work on projects or come work in a cubicle for the day.” 
The former inside entrance to Sears in the Midland Mall
Because the health system is growing, Sanborn adds that the building gives people who come from out of town another place to meet up in the Midland area. 

“There will be quite a lot of functions for the space,” he says. “We’re thrilled to be able to expand into new, modern office space, to create flexible co-working space for employees traveling to Midland from another location, and to join the community at the Midland Mall.”

When renovations are complete, the building will include space for about 250 employees, including several departments who were displaced from the flooding in May 2020 when the dams were breached on Wixom and Sanford Lakes. Offsite office space will also create more patient parking on the campus of the Medical Center in Midland. 

“It really just checked a lot of boxes for us,” says Sanborn. 
The 60,000-square-foot building will be renovated into office space by Midland’s Three Rivers Corporation starting in approximately one month.
Departments housed in the new space will include the information technology, coding, billing and purchasing departments. These moves will free up space for the new  comprehensive cancer center located on the main campus of MidMichigan Medical Center.

Sanborn says the location was appealing because of its proximity to the main campus, its square footage, and how it will help grow the area and the mall.