Getting Behind New Housing
The importance of housing projects in Ann Arbor
—By Patty McLeod
As a University of Michigan student, it is hard not to notice the numerous housing developments across Ann Arbor. New residences and plans are constantly being constructed across the city, such as the proposed Kerrytown units, the University’s new in-progress dorms, or the recently completed Vic Village North (and its under-construction South counterpart) downtown. However, this increase in new housing comes with many concerns. For example, the new dormitory facilities, located on the iconic Michigan Marching Band practice site Elbel Field, and a planned high-rise on South University that would demand the removal of staple business Pinball Pete’s, raise questions about replacing beloved communal spaces. Many citizens worry that new apartments will be too costly to benefit those who need them most. In 2019, the U-M Central Student Government President, Daniel Greene, said that the developments he saw “don’t appear to be addressing the housing affordability crisis.”
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) conducted a statewide assessment of housing needs. Their findings showed that all of Washtenaw County is experiencing a significant shortage of affordable housing. According to John Fournier, the Deputy City Administrator, any construction is part of the solution to the county’s housing shortage. This fall, the University saw its largest incoming class ever. The amount of space needed for housing was dwarfed by over 8,000 students arriving on campus for the first time, with some left unable to secure dorm rooms. First-year students may be prioritized in the dorms, but the rest of the steadily growing student body still has to compete with local residents also looking for accommodations. As Fournier conveyed, no matter the situation, “Everybody competes for the same housing.” So why focus on high-rate properties when citizens are calling for affordability first? Why build complexes like Vic Village that tend to fall outside a comfortable price range for potential renters? It’s part of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission’s greater plan to get in front of housing price increases.
Increasing the supply
To solve the high housing cost in Ann Arbor, the Commission is committed to increasing the housing supply at every income level. More housing options, they believe, will reduce the pressure that contributes to rent prices, allowing the city’s rent rates to begin to decline (they’re currently almost 30% higher than the average of the state of Michigan). Fournier states, “Unless you are meeting that demand at or even above market-rate housing, you’re causing pressure for prices to increase at below-market-rate housing.” If the city solely prioritized affordable accommodation, many citizens would still seek out higher-end, larger, or alternative forms of housing. Creating developments at lower and higher ends of the financial spectrum is necessary for maintaining equilibrium in the housing market.
While the city is prioritizing higher-level housing, the University of Michigan is directing efforts towards more student-based housing. Rick Gibson, Housing Director for U-M, cites vastly fluctuating levels of demand as one of the University’s biggest obstacles; while about 9,000 beds were allocated for all undergraduate students in the fall 2023 semester, roughly 7,500 were reserved specifically for first-year students. The incoming student body is rapidly growing, and for several years, “demand has consistently outpaced the number of rooms available for returning students.” It’s to curb this demand, Gibson says, that the new dorms are being built on Elbel Field. With 2,300 beds among 5 buildings, and a new dining hall with a capacity of 900, both incoming and returning students should be able to feel more confident that they will have access to U-M housing once the project is complete in summer 2026.
Lowering the cost
Jason Liu, a U-M sophomore, has been living at Vic Village North for a year. He was drawn to the units after talking with upperclassmen, who had described it as a “premium living option.” Despite the “premium” living experience, which Vic Village markets as “perfect for all students,” Liu questions the building’s high price point. He states that rent is planned to increase for all tenants in the next year, further pushing away new students who may be looking to rent there. “It doesn’t seem like the students are being prioritized because rent everywhere keeps on increasing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it keeps increasing before I graduate.” To make a better renting environment for all students, Liu hopes to see a limit to rent increases in Ann Arbor: “Our rent is as high, if not higher than some major cities, so I ask when [the city] will decide to cap it.”
Fournier explains that the city has enacted many programs and policies to slow rent increases. An Affordable Housing Millage was voted on in 2020, which he says “is generating millions of dollars annually that [the city is] using to build subsidized, affordable housing.” The apartments planned for Kerrytown are designated “affordable” units. The city gives land to the Housing Commission to build more reasonably priced, subsidized accommodations. For example, a plan to convert a parking lot on 4th Street into an apartment complex passed the Ann Arbor Planning Commission early last year. Plans for another complex near the Blake Transit Center went to the City Council in 2022.
Fournier, working with the Housing Commission, has been involved in the process of rezoning residential districts to improve the efficiency of public transportation. One important zoning project is Transit Corridor 1, located along South State Street and Eisenhower Parkway. To best complement a housing boost in this corridor, Fournier says that development companies can follow the example of higher-end apartments like Vic Village, located above existing businesses. By creating spaces that combine residential and commercial areas, tenants will have greater incentive to move to the newly zoned sectors, leaving vacancies in more affordable units elsewhere. The reliance on public transport will mean the city is getting closer to its commitment to be wholly carbon-neutral by 2030. The Housing Commission hopes that, between newly reopened affordable units and newly created additional ones, the city can begin to work rent prices back while promoting more sustainable living situations.
Taking it to the community
Another solution Fournier posits is community input. When asked, he was happy to list recent instances in which Ann Arbor residents had opportunities to connect with officials on city matters. He described a Citizen Participation ordinance in which all developers must notify the public of their work, putting citizens in touch with the companies themselves. The Ann Arbor City Council has a Design Review Board which engages with applicants for any projects in the city to ensure every developer is in line with the Downtown Design Guidelines. Every site plan goes through the Planning Commission for review. Every rezoning request goes through the City Council proper. These meetings are open and available for the public to share their thoughts on something being built in our city, and provide another way to connect with city officials and make a change. A majority of the feedback the groups receive, Fournier says, is “loud and clear pro-housing sentiment.”
The University also works to foster interaction with the community and the student body in regards to housing. The Division of Student Life at U-M offers support to students looking for affordable housing. Gibson says that the housing offices keep student applications on file leading into each fall semester, so that they may connect with students in need if dorm spacing opens up before classes begin. Michigan Housing also works with the Beyond the Diag program at the Dean of Students Office to provide housing fairs when resident assignments are sent out. Through these efforts and more, U-M Housing works to keep students immediately connected with available housing options and resources to explore alternative options if they’re needed.
When asked how to keep our community inclusive in its housing, Fournier once again stressed the importance of variety. He is constantly working to confirm that the projects going through the City Council and Planning Commission are developments that fill high- and low-budget demands in the community. By proceeding with a variety of student-oriented, career-oriented, and family-oriented construction, there is a distinct “cascading effect” that opens more housing across the financial spectrum. “It’s not a zero-sum game…We want to make sure we’re building diversity in our housing, but we also need to keep sight of the fact that anything that we build…because of the high demand, is going to be beneficial across the economy and across demographics in the city.”
Feature photo: Vic Village apartments on South University Street, by Patty McLeod