Pinball Pete’s building in Ann Arbor to be demolished for 17-story apartment tower

The Galleria Mall in Ann Arbor is expected to come down to make way for a new 17-story student housing tower.

The Galleria, home to the iconic Pinball Pete’s arcade and other businesses, was sold late last month for $18.35 million to an affiliate of Athens, Ga.-based Landmark Properties, according to a press release from Ann Arbor-based Oxford Cos., which previously owned the property through an affiliate, Galleria Associates LLC, and worked on brokering the deal.

Site plans submitted to the city in February call for a 199-unit tower with 630 total bedrooms rising 195 feet at 1208-1214 S. University Ave. between Church Street to the west and South Forest Avenue to the east.

Site plans call for 42 studio units averaging 350 square feet; 14 one-bedroom units with 550 square feet; 29 two-bedroom units, almost all of which would be about 800 square feet; 71 four-bedroom units with about 1,400 square feet; 28 five-bedroom units averaging 1,560 square feet; and 15 six-bedroom units with 1,720 square feet.

There would be about 4,000 square feet for a first-floor commercial tenant, and about 75 parking spaces would be on the ground and second floors, according to the plans. Residential units would start on the third floor.

Messages were sent to Landmark seeking details on the planned demolition and construction timeframes.

The architect on the project is Chicago-based Myefski Architects Inc., while the general contractor is an in-house affiliate of Landmark.

MLive.com reported in April that Pinball Pete’s, a longtime popular Ann Arbor staple, has signed a 20-year lease in the Carver-Gunn Building at 500 E. Liberty St. about a mile to the northwest. The owner of Pinball Pete’s, Ted Arnold, told the publication that the lease is for about 12,000 square feet, a touch larger than its existing location.

CoStar Group Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based real estate information service, says Pinball Pete’s takes about 10,800 square feet at the Galleria Mall. Other tenants include the United States Postal Service (4,200 square feet); the Panchero’s restaurant (2,900 square feet); and Starbucks (1,800 square feet). The Galleria Mall building is approximately 34,600 square feet, according to CoStar. 

Crain’s has asked Oxford Cos. about the fate of other tenants in the property. 

Landmark’s other properties in Ann Arbor include: The Legacy at Ann Arbor, with 253 units; Saga Ann Arbor, with 97 units; the Foundry Lofts, with 210 units; Z West, with 99 units; Z Place, with 66 units; and The Standard at Ann Arbor, with 235 units, according to the company’s website. 

Pinball Pete’s also has an East Lansing location at 220 Albert St.

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