Ann Arbor News - Monday, May 22

Morning, Ann Arbor! Peonies at the Arb are starting to bloom. Here's a cool tracker to follow the garden's updates. Peak bloom is typically between Memorial Day and mid-June. Plan your visits/date nights accordingly!

Read Time: 3 minutes

Reader Count: 570 townies

Percent of Ann Arbor Reading: 0.475%

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ANN ARBORITES SHOULD KNOW

🎸 Sonic Lunch Concert Series: This Thursday, Sonic Lunch returns for the 2023 season. Founded in 2008, Sonic Lunch is a free, outdoor concert series running midday every Thursday until the end of August. Shows are from 11:30 am - 1:30 pm on the corner of Liberty and Division. Music is suitable for all ages and food is available for purchase.

🪴 Abbott’s to Close: After nearly 40 years in business, Abbott’s Landscape Nursey will close on June 30. Owner and founder Michael Abbott is ready to retire and his children aren’t interested in taking over the family business. While Michael doesn’t have immediate plans to sell the business' 20 acres of land, he is open to leasing out the property.

🛏 1,000+ Bed Apartment: Last week, Texas-based developer LV Collective shared its latest plans for a 17-story, 1,031-bed Church Street apartment high-rise. The proposed build includes a two-story lobby with a coffee shop, 283 units ranging from studios to 6-bedroom apartments, and a garage with 150 parking spots. LV shared they were making sustainable decisions as they build, pursuing a LEED Gold certification for the complex.

📶 5G on Campus: U of M has announced a series of infrastructure improvements to strengthen 5G cell service across central campus. For a list of improvements that sound impressive but are too complicated for me to understand, click here.

MICHIGANDERS SHOULD KNOW

🥚 Cage-Free Eggs: Based on a November 2019 senate bill, all eggs sold in Michigan must come from hens raised in cage-free environments by December 2024. As cage-free hens require more feed and space, egg producers are struggling to convert their facilities to meet that goal.

🏠 Up North Housing: As homes in tourist-heavy up north towns are being purchased by downstaters as second homes or rental properties, full-time residents are struggling to find housing. For example, the median home price in Charlevoix is $389,000 (up 19% year-over-year) but only 35% of homes are used as primary residences - the rest are second homes or rental properties.

👨‍💻 Pre-Pandemic Unemployment: Last month, Michigan’s unemployment rate fell to pre-pandemic lows. At 3.8%, last month’s rate matched February 2020’s rate. After reaching a peak of 22.6% in April 2020, the state’s unemployment rate has been steadily declining.

🌱 Lansing Lawns: Unlike Ann Arbor, the city of Lansing is not participating in “No Mow May”. In the first 3 weeks of the month, the city has issued over 1,400 tall grass tickets.

ON THE MARKET

3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,215 Sqft | $399,000

4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,648 Sqft | $689,000

4 Bed | 4 Bath | 3,043 Sqft | $799,000

That's all for now! Next Michigander comes out Thursday.

- Andrew

P. S. - If you like what you read, subscribe to get the Michigander emailed to you every Monday and Thursday

P. P. S. - Caleb Love, a North Carolina men's basketball player, will no longer be transferring to Michigan

P. P. P. S. - Overall, Michigan's population decreased in 2022. Here's a breakdown of how each town's population changed (Ann Arbor's population increased by 805).