The Zillow listings seem too good to be true: A 2-bed, 2-bath, 800-square-foot house on S. Maple for $125,000. A 3-bed, 3-bath 1,372-square-foot townhome on S. Wagner for $225,000. A 3-bed, 2-bath, 1,232-square-foot home on Jewett for $325,000.
These are three of what will eventually be twenty-six “Townie Homes” currently being developed by the Ann Arbor Community Land Trust (A2CLT). Spread across four sites throughout Ann Arbor (the fourth is on Scio Church Rd.), these houses are intended to create local homeownership opportunities for oft-underpaid critical workers at anchor institutions like schools, libraries, and hospitals.
“Some of the homes will be 25 percent to 75 percent below the fair market value,” says A2CLT’s executive director Sarah Lorenz. “But in the past five years, with the housing shortage becoming more acute, prices have really gone up. Ann Arbor always felt more expensive than other communities historically, but it wasn’t to such a degree as it’s become now.”
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A2CLT held a groundbreaking ceremony last fall, but experienced delays with loans and winter weather. Now they’re preparing for construction, with hopes that all four sites will be underway by year’s end. General contractor Norfolk Homes estimates six to eight months to build each home.
Established in 2024 by the nonprofit Equitable Ann Arbor Land Trust, A2CLT is able to lock in affordability by using the community land trust model.
A2CLT owns the land and leases it long-term to homebuyers, who must meet income and job eligibility guidelines and are chosen by lottery. When the time comes to sell, A2CLT has first right to purchase the home for the original price, plus 1.5 percent of that price for every year the seller lived there. This allows residents to build equity while ensuring A2CLT keeps the home affordable
“We think it’s important that we start building a housing stock in Ann Arbor that is outside of the regular real estate market,” shares Lorenz. “And those homes will always be there and always be affordable for future generations of critical workers.”
Among overwhelming interest on Zillow—Townie Homes get so many daily inquiries that it’s been impossible to respond to all of them—A2CLT has already confirmed four buyers. Lorenz encourages interested buyers to visit A2CLT’s website, where they can fill out the buyer interest form and get on the waitlist.
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