New Ann Arbor development aims to set an example for eco-friendly living
Oct 23 2024
A mixed-use housing complex called SouthTown will not only add 216 new apartments to Ann Arbor's housing stock, but will be built and operate in an eco-friendly way.
City council approved the eight-story development at 1601 S. State St., led by Ann Arbor-based 4M, in 2023. It's set to open sometime in 2025. With a ground-floor commercial level, upper-level apartments, and a central courtyard designed by Ann Arbor architecture firm Synecdoche, the development will replace an entire block of apartments and houses, many currently occupied by college students.
Builders will minimize the use of concrete and instead use mostly an engineered wood product called "mass timber" so that "the building itself is sequestering carbon, not creating more," says 4M founder and CEO Marge Poscher.