The late Detroit Pistons owner Bill Davidson may be gone, but his influence is being felt thousands of miles away in the Middle East.
Davidson, his wife Karen and his company Guardian Industry Corp. of Auburn Hills donated $75 million in 2007 for the largest construction project in Israel in honor of Davidson' mother — the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center at Ein Karem in suburban Jerusalem, the Jewish News reports.
Yesterday, a dedication ceremony was planned with wife Karen in attendance, the Jewish News reports. Davidson died in 2009.
The hospital, which is being built in phases, will be 19 stories and accomodate 500 beds, 20 operating rooms, 60 intensive care units and an ultra-modern heart institute, the Jewish News reports. It will also have stem-cell treatment, gene therapy and use of robotics and computer-guided surgery.
The Jewish News reported that the first two of four phases are completed.
The paper writes:
Bill gave the $75 million directly to the State of Israel to assure the tower would be built and not delayed by economic downturns. About $305 million has been raised from other sources so far toward the goal of $360 million from other sources, according to a Hadassah development spokesman.
