Three concrete medians on South State Street between Eisenhower Parkway and I-94 will be torn out and replaced with landscaped, water-absorbing green spaces starting in October, the first project of a newly formed Southside Business Improvement Zone backed by Oxford Companies and the city of Ann Arbor.

The Southside BIZ creates a funding mechanism for corridor improvements along one of the city's busiest commercial gateways, according to a report Tuesday, Aug. 11, by The Michigan Daily. Commercial property owners within the zone will pay a special assessment on top of regular property taxes to finance the work. Under Michigan law, a BIZ can levy such assessments for up to 10 years once at least 30% of property owners in the zone petition for its creation.

The stretch of State Street near the I-94 interchange funnels visitors toward Briarwood Mall and the broader south side, but stakeholders say it has long been overlooked.

"There's this group of us who care very deeply about the way that the South Side neighborhood shows up aesthetically and visually, especially to visitors and people who are coming into our city from the I-94, State Street exit — it's one of the major ways people come into Ann Arbor, and right now it's a little underwhelming," Margaret Wyzlic, Oxford Companies' director of marketing and business development and a Southside BIZ board member, told The Michigan Daily.

Phil Santer, chief operating officer of Ann Arbor SPARK, said the corridor had been neglected because city officials historically viewed it as the end of their municipality rather than a regional entrance point. Ann Arbor SPARK, Destination Ann Arbor and Briarwood Mall are all stakeholders in the new zone.

No roads will close during the October construction phase. The project will replace the existing concrete with soil and plantings designed to absorb stormwater naturally, reducing reliance on engineered drainage systems, according to Jenna James, a University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School student studying landscape architecture who described the environmental benefits to The Michigan Daily.

The median work is the beginning. Wyzlic said future BIZ projects will include wayfinding improvements, public art installations and additional welcome signage along the south side.

Ann Arbor already has a precedent for the model: the Main Street BIZ supports commercial properties downtown, according to Detroit Riverfront. The Southside BIZ is the city's second such district.

The new zone also overlaps with Oxford Companies' $469 million Arbor South development, a 20-acre mixed-use project at State Street and Eisenhower Parkway that will add more than 1,000 housing units, 93,500 square feet of commercial space, a hotel and public green space, according to previous Michigan Daily reporting. Wyzlic emphasized that the BIZ operates separately from Oxford's real estate work, with the company serving as an equal partner alongside other board members.

Construction details and a project roadmap are posted at southsidebiz.com.