A new gateway to the city. That’s how leaders with real estate services company Oxford Companies and real estate development and management company Crawford Hoying describe Arbor South, a 20-acre mixed-use development planned for the south side of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
When it is completed, Arbor South will feature a mix of retail, restaurant and entertainment venues along with public green spaces.
The project, to be developed in phases, is expected to include about 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.
The development will rise from Eisenhower Parkway and South Street in Ann Arbor, adjacent to Interstate-94.
Jeff Hauptman, chief executive officer of Ann Arbor-based Oxford Companies, said that his company has been working on the concept for what has become Arbor South for five years. Teaming up with Crawford Hoying helped push the project to the point where he is now comfortable presenting the plans for the development before the Ann Arbor City Planning Commission this summer.
The project is especially meaningful to Hauptman because the land on which it will rise sits right outside the headquarters building of Oxford Companies. Today, that land is just a surface parking lot.
“Ann Arbor is not different from most cities in the country where there is a strong demand for housing,” Hauptman said. “It’s hard not to look at a field of asphalt and not envision something bigger. It doesn’t just have to be parking. You can do so much more.”
If all goes according to plan, Arbor South will be the first project on Ann Arbor’s south side to earn approval under the City of Ann Arbor’s new TC1 zoning ordinance. The goal of this ordinance is to increase density in areas outside of Ann Arbor, with a focus on adding new housing to the market.
Arbor South’s residences will range from studios to three-bedroom apartments. About 10% to 15% of the units will fall under the city’s affordable-housing threshold.
“If we could rebuild downtown Ann Arbor, development like this is what we would want,” Hauptman said. “This project is not auto-centric. It’s about creating a healthier environment for pedestrians. Our market is all about cars now. There has not been a lot of thought to how we can make it easier for people who want to walk around the city. We’ve made it very easy for people to get in their cars, go to work, drive home and never interact with each other. This project isn’t about that. It’s about showing people that there is more to the world than jumping into their car.”
Russ Hunter, executive vice president of design and development for Dublin, Ohio-based Crawford Hoying, worked hard to design Arbor South so that it will encourage residents to walk to shops, restaurants and green spaces.
This means that Hunter focused not only on the buildings that will make up Arbor South, but on the public spaces surrounding them, too.
“Buildings are important. But the space between them is more important,” Hunter said. “The space that people inhabit means so much. It’s the streets and public parks where community is built. We have taken great pains to make sure Arbor South will feature public spaces for everyone.”
And this space is designed to be used in multiple ways, Hunter said. One day, a green space might host a farmer’s market. Other days residents might use it for tailgating or attending outdoor concerts.
Also important to the design of Arbor South is the mix of residential, office, restaurants and entertainment centers. Hunter says the goal is to create an 18-hour daily window when residents and workers are active at the development. This makes it easier for retailers and restaurant owners to survive.
Hauptman said the goal is for Oxford Companies to appear before the Ann Arbor City Planning Commission this summer. Then he hopes that construction crews can begin sitework in the fall of this year with vertical work beginning in early 2025. This would mean that the first buildings of Arbor South would come online in the middle of 2026.
Additional development partners on the project include Detroit-based architecture and design firm Lord Aeck Sargent and Ann Arbor-based Midwestern Consulting for civil engineering.
