Spoon Scoops Up Success in Ann Arbor

ANN ARBOR, MI-Three new mixed-use developments are under way in Downtown while one is on hold. Spoon Equities president Jeffrey Spoon, who’s been a developer in Ann Arbor for more than 36 years, says the city is as hot as ever.

The three new buildings are being constructed at a cost of about $35 million to $40 million, he tells GlobeSt.com.

The first is the Fifth Avenue Building on Fifth Avenue and Washington, whichwill feature 20,000 sf of restaurants, offices and a posh condominium on thetop floor. The offices will take up floors one through three. The condo,with its own elevator and 360-degree view, sold for $1.2 million.

The Collegian will be a seven-story mixed-use building, Spoon says, on Maynard Street. The first three floors will be office space, he adds, and the top four floors will be condominiums, eight units total. They’re priced between $800,000 to $1.3 million.

The Washington Building, between Fourth and Fifth Avenue on Washington, willalso be 20,000 sf. There will be retail and office, side by side with a three-story condominium, expected to fetch about $1.4 million.

The condominiums are going to a variety of people, but mostly attached in some way to the University of Michigan down the street, Spoon says.

Another building, The Liberty Building, is on hold at the moment, Spoon says. This building would feature eight condominiums, with prices up to $1.3 million.

“We’re waiting for the Collegian to get further along in construction, we’re not ready to go with the fourth one,” he explains.

He adds the Ann Arbor market is excellent.

“It has all the amenities. We’re right next to the university, and within walking distance of the main street of Downtown,” Spoon says. “The city has a quality of life like no other in Michigan.”

Tenants are already being signed for most of the projects.

“We’re working on a major lease at the Collegian, we’ll release the name in January. They’ll take about 10,000 or greater of the office space,” he says.