This meeting was held in person at City Hall.
Commissioner Adams was absent
Commissioner Hammerschmidt was absent
APPROVED: A Special Exception Use permit allowing religious assembly at 525 Detroit Street, the former Treasure Mart building, which will become the new home of Redeemer Church of Ann Arbor. The Planning Commission first approved this use in September 2022, but construction wasn’t finished when that approval expired in September 2025, so the church had to reapply. The parcel is zoned R4C (Multiple-Family Dwelling). No new development is proposed beyond the site plan already approved. (Legistar)
- The Planning Commission approved the original Special Exception Use and site plan on September 20, 2022. The approved site plan, now under construction, restores the historic brick warehouse for church use, adds a roughly 1,300 square foot addition, and keeps the four-unit house at 521 Detroit. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-september-20-2022/
- The church held a community participation meeting on June 15, 2026. https://a2council.com/525-detroit-st-community-participation-meeting-june-15-2026/
APPROVED: Rezoning and area plan for a 7,600 square foot lot at 548 S. Fifth Avenue, currently a two-unit house. It would be rezoned from R4C (Multiple-Family Dwelling) to D1 (Downtown Core), with the Midtown Character overlay and Secondary Street frontage. The lot would be added to the site of “The Dean,” a proposed high-rise apartment building on the block bounded by Fifth Avenue, Fourth Avenue and East Madison Street. With the extra lot, The Dean would be a 14-story building with approximately 240 apartments. As with the rest of the Dean site, the developer offered a condition requiring a minimum 10-foot setback from neighboring residential properties. (Legistar)
- Because the area plan accompanies a rezoning, both will go to City Council for final approval. The rezoning is on the City Council agenda for first reading on October 5, 2026.
- The Planning Commission approved rezoning the rest of The Dean site (nine parcels, about one acre) on December 2, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-december-2-2025/
- City Council approved that rezoning on March 2, 2026. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-march-2-2026/
- The developers held a public engagement meeting on June 26, 2025. https://a2council.com/558-s-fifth-ave-resident-participation-meeting-june-26-2025/
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2026/07/developer-submits-revised-plan-for-high-rise-next-to-university-of-michigan-campus.html
Legistar and Video Links
Legistar: https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1367714&GUID=DCBC6CE8-CCE5-43FC-8E61-6B5906D74660
YouTube: https://youtu.be/s6_a1wOrTzc
CTN Video: https://ctnvideo.a2gov.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/11747
Meeting Length: 1h 3m