Regents OK Several Real Estate Deals

Several real estate deals – including one involving the building that houses Blimpy Burger on South Division – were authorized by University of Michigan regents at their Dec. 13, 2012 board meeting.

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.