Lansing, Michigan – Downtown Ann Arbor is set to gain a major new affordable housing development after Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Strategic Fund Board approved support for a 20-story mixed-use apartment tower at 350 S. Fifth Ave.
The project, backed through a Transformational Brownfield Plan, is expected to bring 330 affordable housing units and more than 6,500 square feet of commercial space to the heart of the city.
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Once completed, the development is projected to generate $209.4 million in total capital investment, turning an underused site into a place where more residents can live near jobs, services, shops, and public transportation.
“Every Michigander deserves a safe and affordable place to call home,” Governor Whitmer said.
“This brownfield redevelopment project will build 330 units to address the critical need for more housing in Ann Arbor. Support for this project underscores our commitment to helping more Michiganders find quality, affordable housing. I’m proud of our work to build or rehabilitate more than 90,000 homes in communities across Michigan, more than any administration in history. Let’s keep working together to help more people ‘make it’ in Michigan.”
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The apartment building will include one- and two-bedroom units reserved for individuals and families earning an average income between 30% and 80% of Ann Arbor’s Area Median Income. Of the total units, 120 will accept project-based vouchers, allowing tenants to pay 30% of their adjusted gross income toward rent.
The location also adds another layer of importance. The site plan will connect with the nearby Blake Transit Center, one of Downtown Ann Arbor’s key public transportation hubs. That connection is expected to give future residents easier access to transit and reduce barriers between housing, work, and daily needs.
The total incentive package is valued at $29.98 million and will be reimbursed over 30 years through several revenue sources, including local and school property tax capture, construction-period tax capture, sales and use tax exemptions, and post-construction income, withholding, sales, and use tax revenues.
Quentin L. Messer, Jr., CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and chair of the MSF Board, said affordable housing remains closely tied to Michigan’s broader economic development goals. He said the Ann Arbor project supports the state’s “Make It in Michigan” strategy by creating housing options in a vibrant downtown setting.
The development partnership, Fifth Avenue MI LDHA LLC, includes the Ann Arbor Housing Development Corporation and Related Midwest. AAHDC was created in 1979 to help address the shortage of safe and affordable housing, while Related Midwest has helped develop, acquire, or preserve more than 10,000 affordable homes in the Midwest and more than 60,000 nationwide.