Former student rental on South Division demolished by U-M
The property at 443 S. Division St., where the rubble will be cleared this week, according to U-M.
Angela Cesere | AnnArbor.com
The corner of South Division and East Jefferson is getting a new look: The University of Michigan demolished the three-story former rental on the site over the weekend.
U-M bought the property at 443 S. Division in 2010 for $805,575. It also bought the neighboring house — once home to playwright Arthur Miller — for $919,425.
The buildings are adjacent to the Institute for Social Research, which is expanding. U-M officials said the 443 property would be used for a parking lot for the contractor working on the project. The neighboring house will be used by contractors during the expansion.
The demolition originally was scheduled for last weekend, but was moved to Jan. 28.
Comments
Bill
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 2:21 p.m.
As you cry the woes of yet another property taken off the tax rolls by U of M, think about Ann Arbor without U of M. What would Ann Arbor be if U of M was not located in this area? While the U of M may not pay taxes, think of the tens of thousands of students, staff, faculty and visitors that it brings to the area who do pay taxes and shop at local stores and restaurants. Much of Ann Arbor thrives due to U of M and its many non tax paying operations.
Frustrated in A2
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 11:33 p.m.
I'm looking at the plus side to this, after the university buys up the entire town none of us will have to pay local taxes, just rent to the university. The university doesn't seem to be hurting so once eh start their own fire dept and increase their police dept life will be good. Mary Sue Coleman, President of Washtenaw County Lol!!!!
leaguebus
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 9:51 p.m.
It was sort of an ugly house and a block away a new private dorm is being built. I guess space in ISR for a few more jobs must displease some folks commenting here. Of course, we don't need anymore jobs, especially from our institutional overlord. Oh the humanity of it!
djm12652
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 9:48 p.m.
I like the idea that $1.7 mil was spent so there would be parking and temp offices available to the contractor...and who says U of M isn't a "giver"? But that is a bunch of real estate that will not be taxed...same old same old...
Dog Guy
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 9:22 p.m.
Another expansion of the U of M Department of Counting Things will improve efficiency of government coercion.
LBH
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 9:21 p.m.
<a href="http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/7543" rel='nofollow'>http://ns.umich.edu/new/releases/7543</a> If you're interested in the UM press release about this, last February.
cibachrome
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:49 p.m.
How fitting that ISR gets the extra space. As you may or may not know, one of ISR's job is to study ways and means to maximize the bottom line of the Hospital System using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). This include patient care methodologies, treatment programs, and real estate transactions. Oh 4 sure, there are some drug treatments studies going on, too. SAS is a commercial software program designed for such tasks and I have had to assist my ex- with it for the study of profitability maximization in kidney dialysis scenarios. The Matrix gets bigger as the Real (estate) world collapses ...
LBH
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 9:08 p.m.
Ok, site the study name and center in which it is running. There are many, many studies being run at the Institute for Social Research and to imply that this is somehow significant really does indicate a poor understanding of statistical relevance. But, on the plus side, you may have misinformed some people and riled them up.
paul wiener
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:40 p.m.
That doesn't seem like a new look. It looks pretty much what a lot of downtown Ann Arbor is starting to look like.
Go Blue
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:14 p.m.
Foolish me. Each time I recently drove past the fenced property and saw the construction equipment, I foolishly thought someone was getting it right and actually restoring the beautiful old house. Is nothing treasured any more? Does everything with a history have to be eliminated and replaced with yet another new, barren box?
LBH
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 9:05 p.m.
Wow, beautiful is really not a word I would use to describe that building. It was a nondescript brick building painted white with rickety balconies on the side facing the ISR building. Not exactly a gem.
Tom Whitaker
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:10 p.m.
Paula: What is your source for 443 S. Division once being the home of Arthur Miller? So far, I've only been able to link him to houses on North State, but students and other boarders weren't always reliably recorded in the city directories. Thanks.
David Cotton
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:09 p.m.
Soon all jobs will be either University of Michigan (or some derivative company), or food service.
alterego
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:09 p.m.
How about a "before" picture?
Jack
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 12:13 a.m.
I would have appreciated a before picture also. I don't know what corner it is on. SE, NW? I spent a good deal of time in the house on that corner many years agol
Rod Johnson
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 11:46 p.m.
Bear, I go by there several days a week, and I was still trying to remember which house it was. A picture would have helped me visualize it. Asking for one isn't some kind of gaffe.
markguy
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 11 p.m.
Easy, simply consult The Oracle at Google: <a href="http://g.co/maps/e5xnz" rel='nofollow'>http://g.co/maps/e5xnz</a>
Bear
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:23 p.m.
you mean you aren't familiar with the area? Never been by the place before? Have no idea where the ISR building is? Then what do you care?
bart
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 7:41 p.m.
When somebody tears down old houses to build apartments (that actually pay taxes) there are articles for weeks about how bad it is for Ann Arbor. When U-M tears down old houses (removing them from the tax rolls forever) there is one short article after the fact.
Wolf's Bane
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 7:14 p.m.
Ann Arbor = University of Michigan. No big deal if you just want to bury Ann Arbor's history.
jns131
Tue, Jan 31, 2012 : 2:55 a.m.
City Place aka what use to be German Town. Remember who built Ann Arbor in the first place. Their beloved homes are now gone to students.
hut hut
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 8:33 p.m.
We should change the city limits sign to read Welcome to UM Inc.
sellers
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 7:19 p.m.
However, history writes that Ann Arbor is what it is today due to the University of Michigan. So, one must be careful of the hand that feeds, and understand sometimes the hand givith and other must takith. .
redwingshero
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 6:51 p.m.
So what kind of system do the overlords use? 1-Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony (because lets face it, you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you and if you said some moistened lady lobbed a scimitar at you, they'd put you away). 2-By exploiting the workers. By hanging on to outdated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society. 3- I told you, we're an anarcho-syndicalist commune. We take it in turns to be a sort of executive officer for the week.
zanzerbar
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 7:49 p.m.
scim·i·tar (sm-tr, -tär) A curved Asian sword with the edge on the convex side.
redwingshero
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 7:46 p.m.
Bedevere, tell me again how you can employ a sheep's bladder to prevent earthquakes.
Joe_Citizen
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 7:11 p.m.
I loved that movie.
hut hut
Mon, Jan 30, 2012 : 6:01 p.m.
Yet another property taken off the tax rolls by our Institutional overlords and less housing for their paying serfs.