ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Ann Arbor-based Oxford Cos. and Dublin, Ohio-based Crawford Hoying have unveiled plans to build Arbor South, a 20-acre mixed-use development in Ann Arbor’s south side. The multi-phased project is expected to include approximately 1,000 residential units, 76,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, three parking garages, an upscale hotel and multiple parks and community gathering spaces. Adjacent to I-94, the project site is located at Eisenhower Parkway and South State Street. Arbor South would be the first project on the city’s south side to receive approval under the City of Ann Arbor’s TC1 zoning ordinance, an initiative designed to increase density in areas outside of downtown Ann Arbor with a heavy focus on adding accessible housing to the market. Arbor South’s residential offerings will range from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of the units will fall under the city’s affordable housing threshold. Additional project partners include Detroit-based architecture and design firm Lord Aeck Sargent and Ann Arbor-based civil engineer Midwestern Consulting. The development team is targeting fall 2024 for site plan approval, with the first residential building coming on line in summer 2026.
Michigan
SOUTHFIELD, MICH. — Farbman Group and Healthrise are both relocating their headquarters to a 93,000-square-foot office building located at 31700 Middle Belt Road in Southfield. Yamasaki designed the Class A building, which features underground parking, large floorplates and a campus-like setting. Farbman, a full-service real estate firm currently headquartered at 28400 Northwestern Highway in Southfield, will relocate in the spring or summer of this year. The relocation includes its sister companies Huntington Construction, FarbNET, Medical Real Estate Solutions, Huntington Maintenance Co. and Apex Mechanical Solutions. Healthrise provides IT services for the implementation of electronic health records, worker performance management and revenue cycle management.
DETROIT — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has renewed its office lease at 500 River East Tower in downtown Detroit. The health insurance company remains the sole tenant within the 307,000-square-foot building, which has been part of the Blue Cross downtown campus since 2011 and is within close proximity to other Blue Cross and Blue Care Network facilities located on East Lafayette and Jefferson Avenue. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, Friedman Real Estate recently purchased both 500 River East Tower and 600 River East Tower from a New Jersey-based publicly traded utility company. Friedman is marketing 600 River East Tower for lease to prospective corporate users.
DETROIT — The University of Michigan (U-M) has broken ground on its Center for Innovation in downtown Detroit. The satellite campus will serve as a graduate school facility, offering masters’ degrees and workforce development programs that will focus on technology and innovation. The center will be funded by a $100 million gift from prominent U-M donor Stephen Ross, $100 million from the state of Michigan, a two-acre land donation from Olympia Development of Michigan, and an additional $50 million will be raised from donors. The project site is near the proposed $1.5 billion, 10-building mixed-use development in The District Detroit from Related Cos. and Olympia Development. Ross is a Detroit native, alum of U-M and chairman of Related Cos. Olympia Development is the real estate development business of the Ilitch family.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $1.4 million sale of a 2,450-square-foot restaurant property net leased to Domino’s in Grand Rapids. The freestanding building, located at 6539 28th St., recently underwent a major remodel. John Nuzman of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, a west Michigan-based development company. An all-cash buyer based in Virginia purchased the asset.
MAG Capital Partners Buys 66,106 SF Electronics Manufacturing Facility in Michigan in Sale-Leaseback
HOLLY, MICH. — In a sale-leaseback transaction, MAG Capital Partners LLC has purchased a 66,106-square-foot industrial property in Holly, about 17 miles south of Flint. MARA Technologies USA Inc., an electronics manufacturer, operates its headquarters from the site. Located at 10456 N. Holly Road, the facility features clear heights ranging from 19 to 22 feet, four dock-high doors, one grade-level door and an electric vehicle charging station. MARA is a subsidiary of Canada-based Invotek Group Inc. Phil DiGennaro and Adam Baxter of STREAM Capital Partners represented MARA in the transaction. Dax Mitchell and Andrew Gi lead Dallas-based MAG Capital Partners.
BRIGHTON, MICH. — Dollar Tree, X-Golf and Patient Centered Family Medicine & OMT have joined the tenant lineup at Green Oak Village Place, a retail lifestyle center in Brighton, which is located about midway between Detroit and Lansing. Dollar Tree and X-Golf, an indoor golf simulator, opened at the property on Saturday, Nov. 25. Patient Centered Family Medicine & OMT is slated to open before the end of the year. Dollar Tree occupies 9,853 square feet, X-Golf occupies 7,230 square feet and Patient Centered Family Medicine & OMT leases 1,349 square feet. REDICO owns the property.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — American Campus Communities (ACC) is underway on the development of a $631 million student housing project at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Plans call for a new residential community with five residence halls totaling 2,300 beds and a 900-seat dining facility, the largest of its kind among academic institutions, according to ACC. The university engaged ACC in a public-private partnership to lead the development of the project, which is situated on Central Campus between East Hoover Avenue and Hill Street. RAMSA is serving as the architect of record and Elkus Manfredi Architects is the interior architect. According to ACC, the development signifies the first Central Campus residence halls built specifically for first-year students since 1963 and will significantly alleviate a decades-long shortage of on-campus housing. “This important new student residential community allows all first-year students who want to live on the University of Michigan Central Campus to do so,” says Graham Wyatt, partner at RAMSA. “It will provide affordable and uniquely appropriate residential communities and amenities for the first- and second-year students who live there, and it will create a crucial link between Central Campus and the Athletic Campus.” To make way for the …
PONTIAC, MICH. — LaundroLab has opened a 4,000-square-foot laundromat within Oakland Pointe Plaza in Pontiac, a northern suburb of Detroit. Founded by local franchisees Leslie and Water Czarnecki, the Pontiac LaundroLab features high-tech washers and dryers, 24-7 attendant service, a child playroom and vending machine. The facility accepts both coin payments and digital payments through a mobile app. The Pontiac facility is one of five planned franchise locations by the Czarneckis. Carrie Weiss of NAI Farbman represented the tenant.
ANN ARBOR, MICH. — Brinkmann Constructors has broken ground on VERVE Ann Arbor, a 729-bed student housing community near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. St. Louis-based Subtext is developing the 13-story, 350,000-square-foot project. Amenities at the 217-unit development will include a fitness center, terrace, rooftop pool and coworking spaces. WDG Architecture is the project architect. A timeline for completion was not provided.