ANN ARBOR, MI — Fences and heavy construction equipment bordered South Division Street as the University of Michigan prepares to construct new dorms.
Fifty-one houses and apartment complexes between East Madison and Hill streets and South Fifth Avenue and South Division Street have been demolished as part of the second phase of the university’s project to expand student housing on Central Campus.
The demolition covered approximately 210,000 square feet and 4.8 acres of land.
Ann Arbor residents expressed mixed emotions on the overall housing project, which started in 2024 with the first phase of housing nearing completion on the former Elbel Field site.
Read more: Demolition of 51 Ann Arbor homes approved for University of Michigan dorm expansion
Sheila Calhoun, a retired recreational sports staff member at the University of Michigan, said she dislikes the new dormitory construction as it matches the growing sizes of new buildings in the city.
“I don’t like how buildings are getting taller and taller in the city, so it does impact me in terms of being able to see the sky,” Calhoun, 67, said.
A resident of Ann Arbor since 1979, Calhoun said she understands the new dormitory helps the city but added it could be at the cost of residents’ viewing pleasures.
“I love to be able to see nature and up high and the more and more I see buildings going up. It’s just bothersome, but I understand progress,” Calhoun said.
The UM Board of Regents voted to approve the demolitions in May in their regular monthly meeting. The second phase of the housing demolition project, which began in the spring, had a budget of $8 million.
Demolition involves the removal of hazardous materials, including asbestos and contaminated soils, disconnecting utilities, and tree removal, university officials said in a demolition overview.
University officials previously said the second phase of the student housing project has not been finalized or approved.
The old Elbel Field property between Hoover and Hill Streets, a university-owned property within view of Michigan Stadium, will be home to five new campus buildings with 2,300 dorm beds. The buildings range from five to seven stories.
The new dormitory will be the first residential facility built specifically for first-year UM students since 1963 and the largest project of its kind in the country, according to the university.
Nicole Membrere, a sophomore at the University of Michigan, offered a more neutral view of the housing project.
The 19-year-old Sterling Heights native said the new dormitory construction does not impact her movement to campus, unlike the street construction projects on State Street.
She said the new dormitory construction could be beneficial to students in the marching band as the band practices on Elbel Field, a block away from the project.
Mohammed Ahmed, a cashier at the fried chicken joint Bonchon on South Main Street, expressed strong support for the university’s demolition project. He said the addition of new dormitories will improve UM students’ access in securing housing in Ann Arbor.
He also said the new dormitory will reduce the city’s real estate development plans.
“The university needs to build a lot more housing for its students and they need to make it attractive so that students would want to live in campus instead of going and renting outside, making the real estate market more competitive for everybody else,” Ahmed, 41, explained. “As a 20-year resident of Ann Arbor, we really have a hard time finding housing, especially those of us who are on the lower end of the economic scale.”
He wished for UM to utilize local contractors and suppliers “so that the money they’re spending to build this is going to come back into the local economy.”
“It’ll be better for everyone and rent will go down which will bring in more people,” Ahmed said.
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