Functional Uses

The South Complex Area is located at the southern end of the Ross Athletic Campus. It is bounded generally by South Main Street to the west, the U-M Golf Course to the north, South State Street on the east, and private development to the south. It includes a range of athletic support and functional uses including tennis, gymnastics, wrestling, soccer, lacrosse, rowing, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Surface parking is also available.

Development Opportunities

Campus Plan 2050 identifies sites for three new Athletics facilities, a new parking structure, and a DTE substation. Landscape and Public Realm The South Complex Area is characterized by large Athletics competition facilities with several large competition and practice fields with small-scale pedestrian plazas and green spaces intermixed. There is a tributary of Malletts Creek running through an undeveloped natural area on the western half of the site.

Mobility and Connectivity

A proposed parking structure in the South Complex Area is located to the west of Malletts Creek in an existing undeveloped area. A bridge over the creek is needed to provide access to the potential parking structure which will serve as a commuter parking location for campus, as an offset of displaced large surface parking by future development, and to support athletic events. A BRT transit center is proposed to connect the parking structure with transit service to the north part of the Ross Athletic Campus, Central Campus, as well as other campuses.

Sustainability and Infrastructure

Integrated solar PV, geo-exchange bores, and ground source heat pumps should be considered for the proposed parking structure and other new development. Integrated stormwater management approaches are encouraged to mitigate potential impacts to the adjacent tributary of Malletts Creek, focusing on maintaining or enhancing the quality of the creek area and surrounding wetlands by maintaining as large of setbacks from the creek edge as possible. Consideration should be given to optimizing green areas to promote biodiversity. The integration of a new DTE substation is necessary in support of the electrification and climate action goals of the university. The proposed location requires careful planning relative to the potential flooding issues associated with the adjacent tributary of Malletts Creek, as well as planning for distribution cabling to campus to the north.