There was a $65-million plan proposed to the Ann Arbor plan commission that would allow the college to physically join the Domino Farms office complex in the township.
The college wanted to connect the two office buildings, the headquarters for the pizza chain, and install the new university in the middle.
It would have included student housing, commons building, classrooms, a library, chapel and other educational facilities. Construction would have begun in the fall of 2002 and have been completed in the fall of 2003.
"It would have been kind of unique to put the college in the office park, alongside the other 40 other office tenants, and we would have encouraged them to join the college in things like internships," says William Koshelnyk, director of communications for the Ave Maria Foundation.
However, the township plan commission rejected the project last month.
Koshelnyk tells GlobeSt.com the township board of trustees will likely also vote against the proposal.
"They rarely contradict the planning commission," he says. He adds the township was concerned that it would lose tax revenue if a college was approved for the location. "But we told the township that we would repay them for any lost revenue," Koshelnyk says.
Also, the building is a prime focus of the township master plan, and the board didn't want to change it, Koshelnyk adds. Now, the college leaders are moving on.
"At the present time, we're looking for locations, but the exact area is still up in air," Koshelnyk says.
There may be an announcement in the next couple days of a chosen location, he notes. The college is in negotiations with a few property owners in and outside the township, he reports.
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