Starbucks permanently closed its 1214 S. University Ave. location on Friday, Oct. 31, as real estate firm Landmark Properties prepares to build The Metropolitan, a new high-rise apartment building, at the site. The store officially announced its closure Oct. 24 with a sign posted to its doors. Starbucks is one of several businesses closing in the Ann Arbor Galleria Mall — including Pancheros Mexican Grill and Pinball Pete’s — to make way for the new high-rise.
The Metropolitan will be an 18-story building featuring about 5,200 square feet of retail space and 241 units of student housing. In an email to The Michigan Daily, a Landmark Properties spokesperson wrote the building will primarily be for residential use but acknowledged a possibility for Starbucks to return to the property.
“We’ve had productive conversations with Starbucks and remain open to welcoming them back to The Metropolitan,” the spokesperson wrote.
The closure of the 1214 S. University Ave. location marks the second Ann Arbor Starbucks to close in recent years, following the Main and East Liberty Street location’s closure in October 2023. Two Starbucks — one located on State Street and another in the Ross School of Business — remain in downtown Ann Arbor.
In an interview with The Daily, Taubman junior Lucy Martin, a former employee of the South University Avenue Starbucks, said she is frustrated by the closure and worries additional pressure will be placed on workers at the State Street location.
“State Street employees are going to have the worst day of their lives every single day, because South U. is shutting down,” Martin said. “I am kind of irritated just because Starbucks is selling out one of their locations and creating another issue for one of their other ones.”
Martin further explained how transferring employees to the State Street location would be difficult, both because of the number of employees and because the State Street location is unionized but the South University Avenue location was not.
“They told us we can get rehoused into State Street,” Martin said. “But, first of all, State Street can’t just absorb 30 other workers. That’s not how that works. But also, if you move to State Street, you were automatically entered into the union there, which, you know, some people didn’t like unions.”
In an interview with The Daily, Business junior Alexa Crociata, who frequently spent time at the South University Avenue Starbucks, said she was sad about the closure and how unexpected it was.
“I thought the closure was kind of abrupt,” Crociata said. “I was really sad about it, just because it’s definitely been a familiar, comforting space for me and my friends to study. I think losing it is honestly like losing a small, steady part of my college life.”
Crociata further said she will miss the community the businesses on South University Avenue brought.
“All the shops that are closed down are daily lived-in spaces that made campus feel like more of a community,” Crociata said. “I think it’s really hard to replace something that already matters to people. I also think there are enough apartments already.”
Apartment complexes currently in the South University area include Landmark, Z Place, Verve, Sterling Arbor Blu, Vic Village North, Vic Village South and Six11. Martin said she does not welcome new high-rise housing developments, believing them to exacerbate cost-of-living issues in the city.
“I think that the high-rises are hurting Ann Arbor,” Martin said. “They’re creating a lot of housing that nobody can afford in Ann Arbor, because the high-rises are priced so ridiculously that an average student can’t afford it. So not only are they knocking down businesses that students actually like and use, they’re then replacing them with something that the majority of the student population can’t take advantage of.”
In an interview with The Daily, Brett Lenart, planning manager for the city of Ann Arbor, said the development could help the city reach its carbon neutrality goals by allowing students to walk to campus, instead of driving or riding the bus.
“It’s a great opportunity and a great location for housing, and it also meets a lot of the city’s sustainability goals,” Lenart said. “The city aspires to be a carbon-neutral community by 2030 and a big part of that is finding ways that people can exist in our community (with) a lower carbon footprint. One of the great ways we can do that is to provide more opportunities for people to live closer to the places that they go to school.”
The spokesperson for Landmark Properties wrote the company hopes the location on South University Avenue will connect its future residents to the city.
“South University is a vibrant corridor that connects students, residents, and businesses in the heart of Ann Arbor,” the spokesperson wrote. “The Metropolitan was designed to complement this energy by offering modern housing and thoughtfully integrated retail, enhancing the pedestrian experience and supporting long-term neighborhood vitality.”
Daily Staff Reporter Alyssa Tisch can be reached at tischaa@umich.edu.
