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 new development, Elbel Field will be relocated. The outdoor sports complex serves as the home of intramural and club sports as well as the Michigan Marching Band. A new field will be constructed one block north of the current site and will include a teaching and practice facility for the marching band.
The university’s board of regents approved the project in September, and a groundbreaking ceremony took place in October. The environmentally sustainable development is slated for completion in 2026.
The project is designed to earn LEED Platinum certification and incorporates new energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, a high-performance building envelope and solar panels on the roof. The dining hall will use geothermal exchange systems for heating and cooling. Additionally, plans call for an all-electric design for both the housing and dining components.
Student housing developer, owner and manager ACC has completed more than 115 public-private transactions at 65 colleges and universities across the nation. New York City-based RAMSA offers architecture, urban planning, landscape and interior design services. Elkus Manfredi Architects is a full-service design practice focused on architecture, interior architecture, master planning, urban design and historic preservation.
— Kristin Harlow