The university is buying three properties on the east side of South Division Street, north of Packard – at 545, 549 and 551 S. Division – for a total cost of $1.5 million.

The two properties at 549 and 551 S. Division are being purchased for $1.075 million. Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger, which has been in business since 1953, leases the building at 551 S. Division. The deal is expected to close on Dec. 31, but the lease to Blimpy Burger will run through Aug. 31, 2013. Tenants will also be allowed to stay in the adjacent house at 549 S. Division, which includes several apartments, through Aug. 31.

A 2,434-square-foot house at 545 S. Division – also used for apartments – is being purchased for $425,000, in a separate deal expected to close by Dec. 31. Tenants will be allowed to stay through the end of their leases, which at the latest ends on Aug. 31, 2013.

These properties on South Division are across the street from UM’s Perry Building, where offices for the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research are located. The properties are also near UM’s West Quad dormitory at 541 Thompson St.

At their Dec. 13 meeting, regents also approved the sale of a house at 631 Oxford, which the university has owned since 1964. According to a staff memo, the 2,460-square-foot house was built in 1918 and has four bedrooms, three-and-a-half baths, and a two-car detached garage. It has been used as temporary housing for deans, administrators and faculty, and is being sold for $442,500. Proceeds will become part of the university’s endowment to benefit the general fund.

There was no discussion on any of these items, and all votes were unanimous.

This report was filed from the Michigan Union’s Anderson room on UM’s central campus, where the regents held their December meeting.

Two large handwritten signs in the window say CLOSED, but Krazy Jim's Blimby Burger will reopen on Monday. (Photo by the writer.)

When The Chronicle sees a Tweet wondering if a local business has closed, that sometimes sends us off on a quest – and Sunday evening, the business in question was Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger. Since we’d covered the mystery closing of another landmark eatery in January, we braced for bad news.

And seeing large CLOSED signs in the windows as we approached, plus a yellow cord strung across the front steps, it wasn’t looking good. But as we got closer, we saw – written much more faintly and in much smaller lettering – ”til Monday.” Then, ignoring the cord, we climbed the stairs and encountered a much more detailed sign on the front door: Blimpy’s was only temporarily closed for renovations. Whew.

As we stood there reading the sign, movement behind the door alerted us to the fact that someone was inside – several someones, in fact, including owners Rich and Chris Magner.

This sign on the front door pretty much says it all. The renovations behind the door are a secret, but if you look closely, you can get a sneak peek in this photo. (Photo by the writer.)

They’d been working all week at renovations they’d wanted to do for a long time, Rich Magner said as he boxed up some unused floor tiles. The east lane of a stretch on South Division in front of Blimpy’s is closed, and only three parking spots are available, due to the roadwork. This is also typically a slow time of year, Magner added, “So I said, ‘This is the time.’”

The main project was putting in a new floor, which meant that everything had to be moved out of the front room – from the grill to the tables and chairs, which are bolted to the floor. Chris Magner described the new floor as looking like Candy Land, the board game with bright colored paths. But you’ll have to go there to see for yourself – Rich Magner wants it to be a surprise for customers, so no photos.

The Magners met when they both worked at Blimpy’s under previous ownership in the 1970s – back when the place was covered with “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” wallpaper. (That’s gone now.) Chris Magner, who was washing down a counter as we talked, remembers the date they bought the burger joint by calculating how old her son was at the time – when they signed the papers, he was 2. They started running Blimpy’s, with partial ownership, in 1993, and bought it outright 10 years later.

This isn’t the first major renovation they’ve done. In January of 2002, a fire caused damage to the grill area and required repairs to that part of the front room – and a new grill. And when the fire truck pumped water to put out the fire, pressure caused the water main into the restaurant to break – they had to repair that, too. “It was a bad year,” Chris Magner said.

The restaurant, which opened in 1953, is known for its distinctive burgers, of course, but equally for its quirky ordering conventions, outlined on its website: “Check out our menu and then come on in – you actually order your food in a classic cafeteria-style setting directly from the person doing the cooking; but be careful! There’s a ‘right way’ to order and a ‘wrong way’ to order, so be sure to visit the ordering page for proper instructions!!”

Their reputation isn’t limited to Ann Arbor. The food and the floor show were featured last year on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, hosted by chef Guy Fieri – there’s a big signed poster of him behind the counter.

It was decidedly less glamourous on Sunday evening, as the Magners and a few others there still faced several hours of work ahead of them. Chris Magner said it wasn’t the Father’s Day she’d envisioned for her husband. As for Rich? “I’m worn out.”

Bonus points for readers who can tell why it's clear that this van is owned by the Blimpy Burger folks. (Photo by the writer – image links to larger version.)