Council approves $35 million Affordable Housing CIB fund to support 330 permanent units at 350 South Fifth

The Ann Arbor City Council approved a resolution to establish a 2026 Affordable Housing Capital Improvement Bond fund and appropriate $35 million to expand affordable housing capacity, including a development at 350 South Fifth expected to deliver roughly 330 permanent affordable units.

A council speaker thanked the Housing Commission, led in the discussion by Jennifer Hall, and said the financing will rely on the millage voters approved in 2020 and is backed by the city’s general fund and bond capacity. The speaker said the city has about 1,200 units built or in the pipeline under the millage and contrasted that with roughly 650 units the city had built or bought through 2024.

Council moved CA 11 from the consent agenda for discussion; the resolution was moved by Councilmember Briggs and seconded by Councilmember Cornell. With nine councilmembers present and voting in the affirmative, the measure satisfied the eight-vote requirement and was approved.

The measure as presented establishes the bond fund and authorizes the city to issue bonds payable from the millage revenue and general-fund backing as described in the resolution. Council did not provide additional project-level budget detail in the meeting record beyond noting 350 South Fifth as the primary project and that bond repayment will be funded by the millage revenue rather than tenant rents.

Next steps for the CIB fund include administrative actions to finalize bond documents and project-specific contracting and development steps under the city’s usual procurement and project-review processes.