New 15-Minute Neighborhoods Along the River Bends
Once the natural features of the river are restored and connectivity is improved, the Huron River Corridor along Fuller Road will become the ideal location for new mixed-use placemaking in Ann Arbor. Improved walkability and transit options will reduce the need for motorized vehicles. Instead, four existing, underutilized sites can be repurposed and transformed into a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood with exciting recreation, retail, dining, and culture.
The sites outlined below offer the potential for over 100,000 square footage of new retail, 10,000 new people living in for lease and for sale housing within walking distance to work, and a decreased reliance on cars with better connectivity and transit options to surrounding neighborhoods.
Together, these four sites create a 15-minute neighborhood with income-diverse housing above retail options walkable to North and Medical Campuses from what is currently an auto-dependent dead zone. Imagine a mini downtown within walking distance of beautiful riverside parks and trails. Cities worldwide utilize their rivers to enhance lives through experiences, walkability, and nature. Why should Ann Arbor be any different?
New Neighborhoods Along Fuller Road
There are ideal sites in the river corridor along Fuller Road that could serve as mixed-use, mixed-income developments offering affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing while being only a short walk away from downtown, campus, park land, and the river.
This section of Fuller Road is a divider between the University’s North Campus, hospital complex, and downtown Ann Arbor. Thousands of students workers commute to this area daily while thousands of students pass through going to and from class. Fuller Road is one of the busiest in Ann Arbor. With such a high volume of traffic, it is a natural place for people to live and gravitate towards due to the river and nearby parks. Yet, it remains undeveloped, serving to divide rather than connect.
Creating neighborhoods along Fuller Road with mixed-income housing, dining options, and other retail components would turn the corridor into a vibrant hub, a place for people to live, work, and play. It would address the growing need for housing that regular workers in Ann Arbor can afford to buy and raise a family in.
Riverside Park
The DTE truck depot adjacent to Riverside Park is an ideal site for another neighborhood. Across the river from the in-progress Broadway Park West development, it would connect via a new pedestrian bridge across the river and is a central location along the river from Argo to the Arb and to downtown Ann Arbor.