50-plus Ann Arbor developments to watch in 2025

ANN ARBOR, MI — A wave of building activity is bringing new apartment high-rises, condos and other developments to Ann Arbor, both inside and outside downtown.

City leaders only hope to accelerate that as they aim for higher-density zoning throughout the city — possibly even expanding downtown.

Here’s a look at over 50 Ann Arbor developments in various stages of planning or construction to watch in 2025.

See other projects the University of Michigan is tackling and projects outside Ann Arbor in Washtenaw County.

The 19-story Legacy high-rise expected to include roughly 240 apartments and a ground-floor restaurant is under construction on Washington Street behind the Michigan Theater, next to a five-story companion building with 15 apartments.

It’s branded as luxury housing for UM students, with advertised rents for fall 2025 ranging from nearly $2,700 for a studio to about $1,600 per bed for a five-bedroom unit.

Construction is underway on a 16-story, 202-unit student apartment high-rise on William Street next to the downtown library, with an expected fall 2026 opening.

Site work has begun for the 17-story Rambler Ann Arbor development at 711 Church St., where 273 luxury-branded apartments geared toward students are planned.

The 15-story Five Corners high-rise overlooking Domino’s Pizza at State and Packard streets is approved, though there’s an ongoing lawsuit over it.

A 12-story student high-rise called Verve is on the rise at 721 S. Forest Ave., advertising 741 beds in 217 apartments to be ready by August.

Plans for a new high-rise on South U have gotten bigger as an 18-story tower with an expanded footprint is proposed to replace the Galleria Mall, home to Pinball Pete’s and other tenants, with 259 apartments and ground-floor retail space.

A 19-story high-rise called Chapter is proposed at the northeast corner of South U and Church Street with 149 apartments and 599 beds catering to students, plus ground-floor retail.

Revised plans for a high-rise on the 600 block of Church Street call for a 20-story tower with 181 apartments and 619 beds. The footprint has shifted to no longer involve demolishing the Rick’s nightclub building.

The Ann Arbor Housing Commission has chosen Related Midwest as its co-developer for a mixed-income high-rise project with affordable housing on the city-owned Y Lot along William Street next to the Blake Transit Center. They’re finalizing plans and aiming to break ground in 2025.

A conceptual design from 2022 showed two connected towers rising 17 and 18 stories. The current design is 19 stories with 302 units, with a household income target of 30-80% of the area median.

A six-story, 63-apartment affordable housing development called Dunbar Tower is underway at the northwest corner of Fourth Avenue and Catherine Street. The Housing Commission is teaming up with Avalon Housing on the project, which includes a new community and cultural space honoring the area’s Black history.

A seven-story building with nearly 200 new apartments is approved for development along Maiden Lane off Broadway Street as the third and final phase of Beekman on Broadway.

Construction continues on the nine-story Vanguard Hotel on Glen Avenue, a mixed-use development including hotel rooms, apartments, retail space, and a restaurant and bar.

The transformation of a former DTE Energy property along the Huron River is underway off Broadway Street where grass and trees have been planted, new trails paved and a new pedestrian bridge across the river installed to link with the Argo Cascades area.

The nonprofit Lower Town Riverfront Conservancy is aiming to open the new riverfront park in the spring, while the Detroit-based Roxbury Group has plans for condos, a nine-story hotel, retail space and a riverfront restaurant next to it.

A redevelopment of the former Sears portion of the 50-year-old mall site is underway. Simon Property Group and co-developer Hines announced in September they broke ground on the residential portion of the mixed-used project, which includes a four-story, luxury-branded building with 370 apartments and a 325-space parking structure. Other features to come include an outdoor plaza, a Harvest Market grocery store and additional retailers.

A seven-story, 180-room Drury Hotel is proposed on the former LA Fitness property at 615 Briarwood Circle, along the State Street side of Briarwood Mall.

Developers are proposing a roughly 20-acre, mixed-use redevelopment called Arbor South, replacing mostly surface parking lots off State Street and Eisenhower Parkway with possibly over 1,000 new housing units, a 150-room hotel and other commercial spaces. The developers are asking the city to help build new public parking decks and about 200 affordable apartments.

A five-story condo building is underway at 330 Detroit St., with most of the 15 units listed as reserved. Available units list from over $1.3 million to nearly $1.7 million.

A developer is proposing 14 condos by converting the Market Place complex at 303 Detroit St. from commercial to residential and adding a fifth floor.

A seven-story, 38-unit condo development is proposed to replace Ann Arbor’s Braun Court.

The SouthTown development is expected to go forward in the spring at 1601 S. State St., replacing a neighborhood block with 216 new apartments, plus ground-floor commercial space, childcare space and a plaza. It also includes a unique system to generate its own energy.

Fifteen luxury-branded condos overlooking the Argo Cascades are approved for development off Longshore Drive and sales have begun with construction pending.

A six-story, 139-room AC Hotels by Marriott is under construction across from city hall at Huron Street and Fifth Avenue.

A developer has plans for a 31-room boutique hotel called the Hotel Earle at the site of the former Germania Hotel, later known as The Earle, at Washington and Ashley streets.

The 250-unit Union at A2 affordable housing development is underway at 2050 Commerce Blvd. on the city’s west side.

Avalon Housing recently began accepting applications for its 50-unit affordable housing complex called The Grove at Veridian nearing completion off Platt Road. It’s a companion to the neighboring market-rate housing being built as part of Veridian at County Farm.

Nearly 100 market-rate homes are being built as part of the solar-powered, eco-friendly Veridian at County Farm development off Platt Road. The partially complete community is set to be featured in a sustainability documentary series on PBS.

No specific plans have been announced yet, but library leaders have indicated they want to redevelop the downtown library site on Fifth Avenue and are seeking high-rise zoning for a potential project that could include housing above a new library.

Demolition of long-blighted city buildings across from the YMCA on Washington Street is setting the stage for putting the site to new use. The city has a conceptual plan for a six-story, 157-unit housing development, but is trying to line up a new developer after a previous developer backed out.

The city is exploring new options to sell the city-owned Kline Lot along Ashley Street for development after a proposal for a Sports Illustrated Resorts hotel and conference center failed to get council’s support.

The evolution of Ann Arbor’s former Georgetown Mall site, now known as The George apartments, may continue with a four-story building addition proposed to replace a front courtyard and parking area with 54 new apartments plus a 1,400-square-foot retail space.

Phase two of Owl Creek apartments in northeast Ann Arbor is approved for development. A new five-story building will add 131 more apartments.

It’s been over a year since plans were approved for the Village of Ann Arbor development calling for 600-plus housing units off Pontiac Trail and Dhu Varren Road. The developer is now working through permit coordination with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy with plans to start clearing the site for development later this year.

Plans have been unveiled for a four-story, 66-unit affordable housing development at 3695 S. State St.

An Airbnb spa retreat called Winter Garden is under construction on Bydding Road in the Water Hill neighborhood.

A four-story building with 45 apartments is approved for development just north of Briarwood Mall at 2900 S. Main St.

A 2,300-bed campus dorm under construction along Hill Street and slated to open in 2026 is among projects UM is tackling.

An eco-friendly quadplex apartment building called The Bridge is under construction on Division Street.

Seventy-five townhomes are proposed on 6.33 acres between Scio Church Road and Ann Arbor-Saline Road.

A roughly 450-unit apartment complex coming to South Main Street is working through permitting for an expected spring 2025 groundbreaking.

The three-story Packard Row development is bringing 72 luxury-branded apartments and ground-floor retail space to 2111 Packard St. and is advertising move-ins starting in May.

A seven-story redevelopment is proposed at the Woodbury Gardens apartment complex.

An eight-unit condo building is under construction at 212 Miller Ave. with one roughly 1,300-square-foot, two-bedroom unit still available listed for $895,000.

A Marriott Springhill Suites hotel with more than 100 rooms is proposed on State Street

Plans are approved to demolish Ann Arbor’s Victory Inn and Suites at 3750 Washtenaw Ave. and replace it with a new four-story hotel with nearly 160 rooms.

A four-story, 79-unit apartment building is planned along the west side of Maple Road just south of M-14

The second phase of Maple Cove is taking shape along the west side of Maple Road just north of Miller Avenue, with 70 apartments in three new three-story buildings.

A 69-unit townhouse project called Bristol Ridge is still taking shape at 2750 Pontiac Trail.

A five-story, 94-room Fairfield Inn and Suites approved in 2021 for the northwest corner of First and Huron streets is still happening, according to the developer. Updated construction plans were submitted to the city in 2024, while there also was grading activity on the site, where buildings were demolished in 2022.

Ann Arbor officials have set their sights on reimagining the community’s Amtrak station on Depot Street, envisioning a new station possibly with housing above.

Ann Arbor’s Synecdoche design studio has unveiled a vision for an eight-story project called Shelby House that could bring 28 homes to a site off Shelby Avenue.

An eight-unit, 32-bedroom, three-story, townhouse-style development is proposed to replace four houses at 601-607 Mary Court.

A third phase proposed for Avalon Housing’s Hickory Way Apartments includes a four-story building with 39 affordable apartments at 1146 S. Maple Road.

A five-story apartment development with 71 units is proposed at 1329 and 1333 Jones Drive

A five-story, 225-unit housing development is proposed next to Whole Foods at 2525 Ann Arbor-Saline Road.

The developer of the 22-unit Near North townhouse project at 700 N. Main St. told the city last year the goal was to be ready to request building permits by spring 2025.

A 120-unit housing development called Brightdawn Village is underway on Burton Road. Two buildings are expected to be ready in June and the other two in August.

A developer still has approved plans to add 102 apartments in three new buildings at Mill Creek Townhomes off Stone School Road, where a new clubhouse was added in recent years, but the proposed apartments are on hold for now, according to the developer.

The city has tentative plans for affordable housing developments at several other city-owned sites in the coming years, including two sites City Council agreed to sell to the Housing Commission in 2024: 123 W. Summit St. and 404-406 N. Ashley St.

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