Ann Arbor's largest affordable housing project broke ground Monday, Sept. 28, on a downtown site the city has been trying to redevelop for more than two decades.

The Adeline, a 20-story, 330-unit complex at 350 S. Fifth Ave., carries a $225 million financing plan, with completion targeted for 2028. WEMU first reported on the groundbreaking ceremony. Every apartment will be reserved for households earning up to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), with roughly one-third set aside for those earning less than 30 percent AMI, according to DBusiness.

The project has been described as one of the largest affordable housing deals in state history, according to MLive's coverage of the ceremony.

The building is named after Adeline Thompson, who with husband Robert opened DeLong's Bar-B-Q Pit on Detroit Street in 1964. The restaurant operated for 37 years and drew visits from B.B. King and Joe Frazier, according to DBusiness. Thompson died in 2017 at 92.

Thompson's granddaughter Angela Davis spoke at the groundbreaking alongside her mother, Diana McKnight-Morton, the Thompsons' daughter. "At a time when Ann Arbor could not, or would not, offer the Black community basic trust, unconditional love and respect, my grandparents created a sanctuary on Detroit Street," Davis told MLive.

Mayor Christopher Taylor and state Sen. Jeff Irwin also attended. Irwin told MLive the housing affordability crisis "nowhere in the state … more acute than in Ann Arbor."

The Community High Jazz Quintet played as the crowd gathered.

A 23-year wait

The site between Fourth and Fifth avenues, south of the Blake Transit Center, once held the Ann Arbor YMCA and 100 affordable units demolished in 2008. The city acquired the property in 2003.

Jennifer Hall, executive director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, said the city committed more than 20 years ago to replace those lost units. The commission partnered with Chicago-based Related Midwest to develop The Adeline.

The lot changed hands three times before construction began. The city sold it to developer Dennis Dahlmann for $5.25 million in 2014. When his plans fell through, the city repurchased it for $4.2 million in 2018 and paid $1 million to settle a lawsuit Dahlmann filed. The Housing Commission then bought the site for $6.2 million in 2023, using millage and federal stimulus funds.

In August, Hall explained why the project costs so much. "The cost of construction is essentially the same when it's market rate or affordable," she told MLive at the time. "We don't get any discounts from architects or engineers."

How it's funded

Financing comes from about a dozen sources, including low-income housing tax credits, geothermal energy tax credits, Michigan State Housing Development Authority mortgage notes, federal HOME loan funds, city bonds backed by the affordable housing millage, the Downtown Development Authority and DTE Energy rebates.

City Council voted in March 2026 to authorize up to $35 million in bonds for the project. The Michigan Strategic Fund Board approved nearly $30 million in tax incentives through a brownfield plan in May 2026.

Ann Arbor voters approved the affordable housing millage in November 2020 with 73 percent support. That initiative set a goal of 1,500 affordable homes over 20 years. As of July 2026, 537 apartments had been built or were under construction, with more than 900 additional units advancing, according to a city report.

What residents get

The all-electric building will use a geothermal system with wells extending 750 feet underground. A ground-floor window on William Street will let pedestrians see the manifold room where the system connects to the earth. Detroit-based SmithGroup designed the tower.

Each resident will receive a free go!pass for unlimited rides on TheRide buses. A ground-floor bike room with 100 spaces will connect directly to the William Street bikeway.

The Adeline will be Ann Arbor's second tallest building, behind the 26-story Tower Plaza on William Street. Completion is targeted for 2028.