The Board of Regents has authorized the university to move forward with plans to purchase, donate or sell various real estate properties across the state of Michigan.
The property agreements for sites located in Ann Arbor, Oceana County, Lansing and Carson City were approved at the Feb. 15 board meeting.
U-M will purchase two Ann Arbor properties for $3.8 million, which will further the university’s options for future development on campus.
The parcels, at 802 and 804 Monroe St., sit on a combined 0.14 acres near Jeffries Hall, Hutchins Hall and the William W. Cook Legal Research Library. The two houses have no known historical significance.
University reserves will be used to buy the site.
The board also accepted a gift of approximately 80 acres of dense woodlands and marsh in the Manistee National Forest, which will be sold with the proceeds to benefit the School for Environment and Sustainability.
The land is in Oceana County’s Leavitt Township in west Michigan, and was appraised at $184,000. It was gifted by Donald and Ingrid Graham.
Sparrow Health
Nine vacant residential properties and two vacant lots in Lansing that are owned by Sparrow Hospital, which is part of University of Michigan Health, will be donated to two nonprofit groups.
Four homes and one lot will be sold for $1 to the Habitat for Humanity Capital Region, and five homes and one lot will be sold for $1 to the Ingham County Land Bank Fast Track Authority.
The properties are adjacent to or near the hospital and reside on a vacant site with no future plans for use by Sparrow, which acquired the parcels in 2016 and 2017 for approximately $920,000.
The donations will allow the two nonprofit entities to renovate the properties and return them to the residential market, while aligning with Sparrow’s commitment to responsible community engagement.
Additionally, U-M will move forward with the sale of a vacant single-story medical office building in Carson City for $490,000. The prospective buyer plans to use it as an adult foster care facility. The building is owned by Sparrow Carson City Hospital.
Tony DiMeglio
Hi, resident of 802 Monroe here! I was surprised to see the comment “The two houses have no known historical significance,” as 802 has a documented impact historically on the city and community. I worry what the authors may consider as historically significant as they have overlooked an important aspect of the campus’ history of student activism. I personally consider the history of The Guild House as extremely historically significant: as the house played a role in the anti-apartied, and anti-war movements in the 50s and 60s. Especially considering the present movements against war, apartheid and genocide.
https://michiganintheworld.history.lsa.umich.edu/antiapartheid/exhibits/show/exhibit/apartheid-comes-to-campus–197/_wccaa/_guildhouse