U3 Advisors first began working in Detroit in 2009, when a group of local philanthropies engaged U3 to assess if there was an opportunity for Detroit’s anchor institutions — its Eds and Meds — to have a greater economic impact on the city. Together, Detroit’s three largest anchors institutions - Detroit Medical Center, Henry Ford Health System, and Wayne State University - employ over 30,000 faculty and staff, enroll over 27,000 students, and spend nearly $1.6 billion in goods and services annually. Through a data driven approach, U3 Advisors concluded that there was tremendous potential to capture the anchors’ economic impact within the city, and accordingly created a place-based economic development strategy that defined Midtown as the urban core of the city. Subsequent analysis and visioning resulted in several major initiatives.