The University of Michigan has faced a decades-long shortage of on-campus student housing. In a couple of years, the situation should significantly improve with the addition of a new residential community on Central Campus in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The University of Michigan has engaged American Campus Communities in a public-private partnership to lead the development of the environmentally sustainable living-learning student community. With RAMSA as design architect and architect of record and Elkus Manfredi Architects as interior architect, the project team will create a community comprising five residence halls with 2,300 student beds and a 900-seat dining facility.
The University of Michigan housing-dining project is “the largest third-party development project in the student housing industry to date,” James Wilhelm, executive vice president, P3 Partnership at American Campus Communities, said in a press statement.
The housing-dining project will help meet the demand among undergraduate students for affordable on-campus housing on Central Campus. The Central Campus residence halls will be the first built specifically for first-year students since 1963.
“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,” Graham Wyatt, partner, RAMSA, said in the statement. “It will provide affordable and uniquely appropriate residential communities and amenities for the first- and second-year students who will live here.”
The development also will support the school’s carbon-neutrality goals. The housing and dining facilities will feature an innovative all-electric design, and the dining hall will use geothermal exchange systems for heating and cooling. Designed to earn LEED Platinum certification, the development will incorporate new energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, a high-performance building envelope, and rooftop solar panels.
To make way for the new Central Campus residential community, Elbel Field, the Michigan Marching Band’s outdoor practice facility, will be relocated, and a new teaching and practice facility for the band will be constructed a block away from its former site.
Completion of the $631 million project is slated for 2026.
On the Building Team:
Owner: University of Michigan
Developer: American Campus Communities
Design architect and architect of record: RAMSA
Interior architect: Elkus Manfredi Architects
MEP engineer: IDS
Structural engineer: SDI Structures
General contractor: The Christman Company
Related Stories
MFPRO+ Research | Feb 28, 2024
New download: BD+C's 2023 Multifamily Amenities report
New research from Building Design+Construction and Multifamily Pro+ highlights the 127 top amenities that developers, property owners, architects, contractors, and builders are providing in today’s apartment, condominium, student housing, and senior living communities.
Student Housing | Feb 28, 2024
Mary Cook Associates completes interiors for luxury student housing community
Chicago-based interior design firm Mary Cook Associates announced it has completed the interiors of Lapis, a new 1,086-bed off-campus luxury student housing community near Florida International University.
Student Housing | Feb 21, 2024
Student housing preleasing continues to grow at record pace
Student housing preleasing continues to be robust even as rent growth has decelerated, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Student Housing Report.
Student Housing | Feb 19, 2024
UC Law San Francisco’s newest building provides student housing at below-market rental rates
Located in San Francisco’s Tenderloin and Civic Center neighborhoods, UC Law SF’s newest building helps address the city’s housing crisis by providing student housing at below-market rental rates. The $282 million, 365,000-sf facility at 198 McAllister Street enables students to live on campus while also helping to regenerate the neighborhood.
Student Housing | Feb 13, 2024
Student housing market expected to improve in 2024
The past year has brought tough times for student housing investment sales due to unfavorable debt markets. However, 2024 offers a brighter outlook if debt conditions improve as predicted.
Industry Research | Feb 8, 2024
New multifamily development in 2023 exceeded expectations
Despite a problematic financing environment, 2023 multifamily construction starts held up “remarkably well” according to the latest Yardi Matrix report.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 5, 2024
Wood Partners transfers all property management operations to Greystar
Greystar and Wood have entered into a long-term agreement whereby Greystar will serve as property manager for all current and future Wood developed and owned assets.
University Buildings | Jan 15, 2024
The death of single-use university buildings
As institutions aim to improve the lives of their students and the spaces they inhabit, flexible university buildings may provide an all-in-one solution.
Student Housing | Jan 12, 2024
UC Berkeley uses shipping containers to block protestors of student housing project
The University of California at Berkeley took the drastic step of erecting a wall of shipping containers to keep protestors out of a site of a planned student housing complex. The $312 million project would provide badly needed housing at the site of People’s Park.
MFPRO+ News | Dec 22, 2023
Document offers guidance on heat pump deployment for multifamily housing
ICAST (International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology) has released a resource guide to help multifamily owners and managers, policymakers, utilities, energy efficiency program implementers, and others advance the deployment of VHE heat pump HVAC and water heaters in multifamily housing.
