Functional Uses

The Elbel Field Area is located north of the Stephen M. Ross Athletic Campus and is bound by East Hoover Avenue, South Division Street, East Madison Street, the Ann Arbor Railroad, and Greene Street. It is home to athletic and band-related facilities with construction underway of new residential and dining facilities. Units represented in the Elbel Field Area include Student Life, Athletics, University Libraries, the Institute for Social Research, and the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Development Opportunities

The Elbel Field Area provides for a major expansion of undergraduate housing on Central Campus. Phase I of the Central Campus Residential Development is currently under construction on the former site of Elbel Field. It is laid out around a series of small quads defined by traditional Collegiate Gothic brick and stone buildings.

A replacement for the former Elbel Field marching band practice facility carrying the same name is located west of South Fifth Avenue and south of East Madison Street.

A second phase of housing is proposed north of Hill Street, east of Fifth Avenue.

West of the railroad line and east of Greene Street, the site of an existing university library book repository may be redeveloped in the future to support this area’s needs.

Landscape and Public Realm

Development proposed for the Elbel Field Area feature courtyards within the new residential developments for passive recreation and gathering. Geo-exchange bores and a north-south universal access route connecting Hill Street to East Madison Street are envisioned as part of the public realm, helping to navigate the significant grade change between the development area and the State Street West Area to the north.

A key consideration for future development is the presence of Allen Creek which runs parallel to the railway, flowing northward to the Huron River. This culverted creek and its associated floodplains are designated as a County Drain by Washtenaw County.

Phase II housing development should incorporate carefully considered open space at the corner of Madison and Division to act as a gateway at this busy circulation nexus.

Mobility and Connectivity

BRT routes and stops are proposed along East Madison Avenue, South Fifth Avenue, Hill Street, South Division Street (between Hill and Hoover), and East Hoover Avenue. The proposed BRT service combined with pathways and bike lanes along South Division Street provide convenient connections to the Central Campus core to the north and to the Ross Athletic Campus to the south. As noted, the integration of north-south universal access routes is necessary as part of the proposed Phase II housing, taking into consideration the change in elevation from John Street to East Madison Street.

The Madison Transit Center, proposed at the southeast corner of East Madison Street and Packard Street in the State Street West Area, is located to provide a variety of transit options to this new housing area. To facilitate access to the transit center, an expanded pathway will be investigated on the west side of South Division Street from East Hoover Avenue to East Madison Street supplemented by the accessible routes of the interior quads. Bike parking is recommended to serve the Central Campus Residential Development and the Madison Transit Center.