[DetroitMan]

‘Milestone’ $631M housing project breaks ground at University of Michigan

University of Michigan officials broke have broken ground on the $631-million Central Campus housing project that officials have called “once in a generation.”

Hundreds of university and government officials gathered on Friday, Oct. 13, with shovels and hard hats at the construction site of the in-progress residence hall off Hoover and Hill streets. The former Elbel Field was located there, as the new Michigan Marching Band facility is in progress across the street.The multi-phase project is “a milestone in the university’s history,” said UM President Santa Ono, with Regent Chair Sarah Hubbard adding the project addresses growing demand for student housing on campus.

“The new Central Campus Housing Project represents a fantastic opportunity for more students to live on campus, something that has been an issue for years, and this is really important,” she said. “Every student that wants to live on central campus will be able to do so.” The first phase of the housing project expects to add 2,300 beds by summer 2026, officials said. A second phase expects to add 2,200 more by an undetermined future date, while Regent Ron Weiser said there are plans to potentially add about 2,000 more beds nearby on top of that.Weiser, a local real estate investor and founder of the McKinley Companies property management company, said the student beds should drive down housing demand, and thus prices, in the private market.

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...-michigan.html