Ann Arbor’s Village of Ann Arbor housing plan now seeks $39 million in brownfield tax capture, up $7.6 million

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A housing development planned on a former city dump on Ann Arbor’s north side is now in line for about $39 million in brownfield tax reimbursements, $7.6 million more than local officials approved three years ago, according to city records.

The Village of Ann Arbor project covers about 77 acres near Pontiac Trail and Dhu Varren Road. The City Council unanimously approved the original brownfield plan in March 2023 for 564 homes and apartments and about $31.4 million in reimbursements. Council approved the first amendment, Resolution R-26-372, on Sept. 22.

Under a brownfield plan, a developer pays cleanup and site costs up front and is paid back over time from the new property taxes the finished project generates, money that would otherwise flow to local taxing units. City staff wrote that approval creates no up-front city spending or direct obligation.

Why the price went up. According to the city staff report, the site was once a municipal dump and mining operation, and stricter state rules on building near methane-producing ground forced more testing and a new site plan that keeps homes off those areas. The redesign has 613 units: 133 for-sale attached and detached homes and 480 rental apartments, with about $221 million in private investment.

The amended plan lists $39,008,670 in eligible costs, up from $31,371,715. Of the new total, about $12.8 million is environmental and about $26.1 million is non-environmental. The biggest changes:

Site preparation rose about $7.1 million, largely because the removal of unstable fill soil was reclassified from environmental to non-environmental work at the state’s request, while due-care and response costs fell about $9.6 million. Public infrastructure grew about $5.8 million, to $7.3 million, mostly for a new east-west road linking Pontiac Trail with Leslie Park, which staff said would be public but privately maintained and cost more than $5.7 million. Interest grew about $3.5 million, to $9.55 million.

What taxpayers get back. Staff said the land pays about $50,000 a year in property taxes now and should generate more than $5.3 million a year once the developer is repaid. The model projects 14 years of capture to repay the developer plus one more year for a local brownfield revolving fund, with repayment finished around 2038. Reimbursements equal about 17.6% of the project’s investment, under the city’s 20% ceiling.

Where it misses the city’s own rules. The staff report says the amended plan no longer meets a city standard that non-environmental costs shouldn’t exceed environmental ones unless the project includes housing for households at 60% of area median income. Staff called the shift mostly a relabeling of the same soil work and said the planned rents would be affordable to households earning roughly 80% to 85% of area median income. The city’s criteria also say interest “will not be considered” an eligible expense, but staff noted the plan, like the original, still includes it.

What comes next. The staff report says the amendment goes from the city to the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and then the county Board of Commissioners, whose approval covers local millages. A Citizen Portal summary of the board’s Oct. 21 meeting reported that commissioners voted to adopt the amendment after residents urged an all-electric requirement for the rentals; The Mitten Daily could not confirm from county records whether that was the board’s final vote. Capturing state school taxes would still need a state work plan approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund.

Sources:
City of Ann Arbor, File 26-1551, “Resolution to Approve Amendment #1 to the Brownfield Plan for the Village of Ann Arbor,” approved Sept. 22, 2026 (R-26-372), https://a2gov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?GUID=9A4FF59B-C110-459B-8409-011208FD2C93&ID=8209431
City of Ann Arbor staff report, Amendment #1 to the Brownfield Plan for the Village of Ann Arbor, Sept. 22, 2026 (costs, unit counts, tax figures, capture period, review criteria), https://a2gov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=15850796&GUID=B5C92A3E-B877-4C1B-AB26-79F939641935
Citizen Portal, “Residents urge all-electric condition as county approves Ann Arbor brownfield amendment,” Oct. 21, 2026, https://citizenportal.ai/articles/11347100/michigan/washtenaw-county/residents-urge-allelectric-condition-as-county-approves-ann-arbor-brownfield-amendment
Photo: Dwight Burdette, “Leslie Park Golf Course Viewed from Leslie Park, Ann Arbor, Michigan.JPG,” July 13, 2013, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leslie_Park_Golf_Course_Viewed_from_Leslie_Park,_Ann_Arbor,_Michigan.JPG

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Tags: Ann Arbor · Brownfield · Tax Increment Financing · Housing · Pontiac Trail · Washtenaw County