New Development Proposed to Bring 200+ Affordable Housing Units & Sustainability Features to Ann Arbor

The City of Ann Arbor is considering a proposed public-private partnership that would advance community goals related to housing affordability, equity and sustainability. The Arbor South proposal — a partnership under consideration between private developers and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission (AAHC) — would, if approved, redevelop the South State Street corridor, one of the city’s busiest “gateway” corridors, into a mixed-use, walkable neighborhood designed around transit access and public open space.

The Arbor South site, at the northeast corner of State Street and Eisenhower Parkway, currently features a gas station, expansive surface parking lots, and a two-story, functionally obsolete parking structure. Under state law, it qualifies for reimbursement of remediation and infrastructure costs through tax increment financing. Under local Brownfield policy, developers are required to designate 15% of units as affordable housing. In this case, developers, Oxford and Crawford-Hoying, have proposed to exceed that requirement by designating 209 of the approximately 1,039 total residential units as affordable — more than 20% of the total. When complete, the broader Arbor South development will also include office space, public plazas and open space, hotel, parking, retail and restaurants, transforming one of Ann Arbor’s most automobile-dependent areas into a vibrant, walkable district supportive of A2ZERO and Vision Zero goals.

Under the proposed public-private partnership, the city would use tax increment revenues generated by the development, which would not exist but for the project, to reimburse eligible public improvements, including structured parking, as permitted under state law. A Special Assessment District would be established to cover any shortfall, thereby protecting the city’s General Fund. The proposal also includes provisions for free surface parking during construction and developer-funded bus passes for AAHC’s future Arbor South residents. 

Ann Arbor Housing Commission Executive Director Jennifer Hall explained Oxford and Crawford-Hoying initiated the partnership with AAHC to bring affordable housing to Arbor South, in support of the city’s affordable housing goals. “I’m very excited about the possibility of this new and creative approach to add more affordable housing to the community,” she said. “This unique partnership capitalizes on the developer’s expertise in financing and building a complicated multi-phase, multi-use project and the Housing Commission’s expertise operating affordable housing.”        

Hall said the commitment to equitable, accessible housing in Ann Arbor, and at Arbor South in particular, will be ongoing and will tap into other AAHC skill sets. “We were able to increase the number of affordable units because the Housing Commission will actually own and manage these apartments. In addition, the affordable units will be within a single building rather than scattered throughout multiple, market-rate development buildings,” she said. “Without this partnership, it would have taken much longer and would have been more expensive for the Housing Commission to find vacant land for sale near public transit, retail and jobs — amenities many of our residents depend on — and to secure all of the financing to build these 209 apartments.”

“Among the greatest advantages to this model is that the Housing Commission is a mission-based owner and property manager,” said Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor. “That means, unlike a traditional market-rate development, every effort is made to ‘screen in’ residents who are often otherwise ‘screened out’. The Housing Commission works hard to ensure there are minimal barriers for people who want to move in, such as lower security deposits and assistance accessing funds from community resources when needed, as well as no minimum credit-score requirements. And through the foresight of Ann Arbor voters and their passage of the affordable housing millage, funds have been allocated for onsite services to invest in problem-solving and resources for positive living experiences.” 

Affordable housing components (as proposed):

• 209 1- and 2-bedroom apartments
• All apartments would be affordable to households earning 60% or less of the Area Median Income (AMI)
• The rents will include all utilities (water, sewer, garbage, electric)
• All-electric building, except for back-up emergency power
• Geothermal heating and cooling, solar, community rooms and onsite social services
• Project would meet the Enterprise Green Standards or the National Green Building Standards 

Additional sustainability features proposed within the broader development:

• All rentable units would be fully electrified; condo buyers offered a fully electric option 
• Rooftop solar incorporated on all private buildings at the developer’s cost, and solar canopies installed on all parking structures 
• Energy conservation measures such as effective building thermal envelopes to provide higher energy efficiency and EPA Energy Star appliances for reduced energy consumption
• Water conservation measures, including native plantings that require less irrigation
• Greenscape to include tree plantings exceeding the required landscaping, and planted in locations to reduce heat-island effect
• Demolition waste management plan for recycling and reclamation of construction materials

If approved, the Arbor South partnership would align with Ann Arbor’s policy goals of equitable development through affordable housing, increased safety through Moving Together Towards Vision Zero and carbon neutrality through A2ZERO. Details about Arbor South are available at www.arbor-south.com. Learn more about the Ann Arbor Housing Commission and affordable housing in the city at www.a2gov.org/housing-commission.

Ann Arbor City Council will consider the proposed Public-Private Development Agreement and Brownfield Plan for Arbor South at the Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, meeting (rescheduled from Monday, due to Election Day).

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Media Contact: 

Joanna Satterlee, Interim Communications Director, jesatterlee@a2gov.org