The University of Michigan will purchase two Ann Arbor properties — at 1224 Washtenaw Court and 1700 Geddes Ave. — after the Board of Regents voted May 16 to authorize several real estate transactions across the state.
U-M will acquire the two separate sites, located near the university’s Central Campus Classroom Building and the Central Campus Recreation Building — jointly for $31.6 million.
Also, the board voted to approve additional property agreements for sites in Ashley, Grand Ledge, Lansing and Muir.
The university plans to sell the Geddes Avenue property to an already-identified third-party buyer, as the property does not represent a strategic need for the institution but was being sold to the university in a bundled package with the desired 1224 Washtenaw Court.
Given a short timeframe and a competitive sale of these properties, Regent Ronald Weiser secured the properties through a purchase agreement, with a tentative June closing date, to preserve this strategic opportunity for the university.
With the board’s approved authorization, the university will now take an assignment of the purchase agreement from Weiser and close the purchase transaction directly with the third-party seller. No future plans for the site have been identified by the university.
University of Michigan Health-Sparrow
U-M also will move forward with purchasing an 11.28-acre site at 5677 E. Saginaw Highway in Grand Ledge for a new health-care center intended to improve and expand health access to its services in the area.
The center is expected to house primary and specialty care offerings, including radiology and rehabilitation services. Funding for the $1.9 million purchase will be provided from Sparrow Health System cash and investments acquired in a merger with U-M Health in 2023.
Additionally, the university will sell the following vacant Sparrow Health buildings, for which there are no future plans to use or develop:
- A two-story office-warehouse building owned by Edward W. Sparrow Hospital on 2.56 acres at 703 E. Michigan Avenue in Lansing, for $1.25 million.
- A vacant, single-story medical office building owned by Sparrow Ionia at 1044 Hayden Road in Muir, for $320,000.
- A vacant, single-story medical office building owned by Sparrow Carson City at 320 S. Sterling in Ashley, for $30,000.
