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Wednesday, March 25, 2026
Ann Arbor, Michigan
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NEWS BRIEFS
UMich finalizes purchase of Textile Road parcel for planned Ypsilanti data center
NEWS BRIEFS
Lucas Mattson’s autopsy report determines “The site selection process remains active, with no established timeline official cause of death for a site selection decision.” as hypothermia Mattson’s manner of death was determined to be an accident, with alcohol intoxication as a contributing factor
THE MICHIGAN DAILY NEWS STAFF
Ford Lake Dam, located on the Huron River, connects North and South Hydro Parks and is adjacent to the Textile Road site.
GLENN HEDIN Daily News Editor
The University of Michigan finalized the purchase of 124 acres of land by Textile Road in Ypsilanti Township Wednesday afternoon. Combined with an adjacent 20 acre parcel already owned by the University for a total of 144 acres, the land is one of two potential sites for the data center it intends to construct in collaboration with Los Alamos National Laboratory. The data center has met opposition from township residents and members of the University community due to concerns over its planned use in the development of nuclear weapons
and its potential impact on the electrical grid and environment. Local officials say the University has not properly communicated with the township throughout the site selection process. The Textile Road site — which is adjacent to the Huron River, a public park and an affordable housing development — has drawn particularly strong opposition from township officials, who would prefer to see the data center built on an industrial site owned by the American Center for Mobility in Willow Run. Local officials allege that the University’s negotiations with ACM are being conducted in bad faith and they are not seriously considering the Willow Run site.
In an email to The Michigan Daily, Paul Corliss, assistant vice president for public affairs and internal communications, wrote that the University has not yet selected a site for the data center. “Securing the Textile Road parcel ensures the university maintains access to this viable option as due diligence continues,” Corliss wrote. “The site selection process remains active, with no established timeline for a site selection decision, and includes rigorous evaluation of both the Textile Road site and property at the Willow Run complex in Ypsilanti Township.” In an email posted to the Ypsilanti Township’s website, township attorney Douglas
Photo courtesy of Elena Nicholson.
Winters wrote that Chris Kolb, the University’s vice president for government relations, notified the township over text after the deal had already closed. “Kolb notified Township Supervisor Brenda L. Stumbo via text that U of M had completed their purchase of the 124 acre parcel located on Textile Road which now brings the total acreage owned by U of M on Textile to 144 acres,” Winters wrote. “This failure to communicate with the Township continues to demonstrate the arrogance of the University.” Corliss also wrote the University “remains in communication” with the township about its data center plans.
An autopsy conducted by Michigan Medicine Jan. 26 revealed the cause of death for 19-year-old student Lucas Mattson to be hypothermia. Mattson was found dead around noon Jan. 24 after attending a Delta Chi fraternity party the night of Jan. 22. Mattson’s manner of death was determined to be an accident. An autopsy report obtained by The Michigan Daily stated the outside temperature was about 15 degrees Fahrenheit when Mattson was last seen leaving the fraternity party at 1 a.m. Jan. 23, before dropping to below zero early the following morning. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. While hypothermia was the cause of death, acute ethanol intoxication was determined to be a contributing factor. Mattson’s blood alcohol concentration measured 0.156%, nearly twice the 0.08% legal driving limit for adults in
Michigan. A sample of vitreous f luid from the eye, considered more resistant to postmortem changes, indicated a blood alcohol concentration of 0.199%. According to The University of Toledo, individuals with a 0.2% BAC level are prone to blacking out and may require help standing up. In the report, Dr. Randy Tashjian, the pathologist who conducted the autopsy, wrote Mattson was found lying face down at a residence near the house party he attended. “(Mattson was) discovered in a prone position adjacent to a residence by a homeowner the following day,” Tashjian wrote. The report found no signs of foul play. While Mattson was found with minor blunt force injuries, the autopsy rules out physical trauma and underlying conditions as possible contributing factors. “There is no evidence of significant acute or recent physical trauma,” Tashjian wrote. “No features of significant natural disease are identified.”
ANN ARBOR
CAMPUS LIFE
Passed unanimously, the plan aims to combat Ann Arbor’s housing shortage through mixed-use, high density development
The art installation features the names of 52 people who have died from interactions with ICE since January 2025
‘This vote is the turning point’: City Council unanimously adopts Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2050
NIKO WILSON
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council met Monday evening at Larcom City Hall to hold a public hearing and vote on the city’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which outlines significant zoning reform to guide the city’s development through 2050. The plan was unanimously approved and aims to broadly expand Ann Arbor’s housing supply by systemically eliminating exclusively single-family zones to allow the construction of duplexes and triplexes. The City Planning Commission began developing the plan in 2023. It will replace five active planning documents: the Natural Features Master Plan, Land Use Element, Downtown Plan, Sustainability Framework and South State Street Corridor Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is not legally binding, instead providing recommendations for future zoning ordinances through 2050. During the three-hour public hearing, 27 residents advocated for the plan and 27 residents argued against it. Speakers were associated with a variety of resident groups including Neighbors for More Neighbors Ann Arbor and A2 Pause the Plan, which have mobilized public support and opposition, respectively, to the plan since its introduction. Ann Arbor resident Adam McCue spoke in favor of the plan, which he believes will improve both housing supply and affordability. “Data strongly suggests that housing costs are directly correlated with homelessness,” McCue said. “The richest people in an area get first pick. Middleincome people get second pick.
Anything left over is left to the poorest among us, and the poorest of them usually fall off the ladder. At this point, it should be pretty obvious that the solution to this is to build more housing and provide more supply.” Ann Arbor resident Claire Tobin said the plan doesn’t place enough emphasis on affordable housing, and raised concerns about neighborhood gentrification. “Without strong antidisplacement policies, rental protections and real affordability commitments, increased density will intensify the pressures that are already pushing longtime residents out,” Tobin said. “The housing we are actually seeing built today is overwhelmingly luxury development that many of the people who live and work here cannot realistically afford.” The Comprehensive Plan outlines three primary land use categories for the city. The residential category allows singlefamily homes, duplexes and triplexes; transition areas permit moderate-density housing, offices and commercial uses along transit routes and hub areas allow the highest density developments and mixed-use zoning in the city’s primary commercial districts. With this system, Ann Arbor joins a growing list of cities that have ended or restricted exclusively single-family zones. Ann Arbor resident Peter Houck said the city is moving in a more inclusive direction by allowing for more varied housing. “I’m hoping to live in Ann Arbor for the next 40 years, and I’m hoping to do it surrounded by aging parents and young adult children and their families,” Houck said. “They will need viable housing options here in the city, or else they
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will be forced to go somewhere else. Single-family homes are likely not what they will need or be able to afford.” Ann Arbor resident Tricia Hackney raised concerns the plan will prioritize luxury developments over housing for lower- and middle-income residents. Hackney said the plan will harm senior citizens, accusing the council of bias toward studentoriented development. “As a 40-year citizen of Ann Arbor, I think it’s important to have people on council who represent the public — unfortunately, city council members represent companies, not residents,” Hackney said. “Seniors got the vibe a long time ago, courtesy of the CLUP, that they are not valued because of their age. … Councilmembers need to represent all constituents, not just the top 20% and the young.” Single-family zoning originated in 1916 in Berkeley, Calif., and has been widely adopted in Ann Arbor neighborhoods since the city began zoning in 1923. LSA junior Aaron Puno urged the council to adopt the plan, arguing past zoning policy forced a large portion of Ann Arbor’s workers to commute from outside the city. “The intransigence of the past must not be allowed to poison the future of so many thousands of Ann Arbor people desperate to call this great city home,” Puno said. “We must build more homes. We must pass this plan tonight, in this very moment.” Throughout the last few months, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing, surveyed more than 3,100 residents and met with numerous neighborhood associations.
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Prof. Rogério Pinto opens art installation “ICEBREAKER” to memorialize those killed by ICE MYA WEISS
Daily Staff Reporter
Rogério Pinto, social work professor and multidisciplinary artist, held a private opening reception at his Ann Arbor home Wednesday evening to unveil his art installation “ICEBREAKER,” created to memorialize those killed by, or died in the custody of, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Pinto, who teaches Social Work 864: Global ArtCentered Social Justice Practice and Self-Healing, invited 17 students from his class to attend the opening reception, along with other students, faculty and community members. The art installation will be on display at the corner of Harbrooke Avenue and Arbana Drive until April 19. The display features a white picket fence — symbolic of the idealized American dream — which features 52 names of people who have died from interactions with ICE since January 2025. Community members are encouraged to add flowers, letters and other commemorative items to the fence throughout the next month. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Pinto said the ICE encounters in quiet Minneapolis neighborhoods made him think of his own community in Ann Arbor, inspiring him to install the piece in his own front yard, questioning what Ann Arbor would be like under similar conditions. “What would happen if people began to descend upon this neighborhood pursuing people without any cause, knocking on doors without a warrant, going around wearing masks without any identification?” Pinto said. “What does it mean to us to be under this kind of attack?”
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Grace Lahti/DAILY Ann Arbor residents visit Professor Rogerio Pinto’s new art exhibit “ICEBREAKER”, memorializing the lives lost to ICE and detention centers Wednesday evening.
During the opening reception, Pinto told the crowd he was inspired by a Black Lives Matter traveling memorial following the death of George Floyd, which began in a man’s front yard in Detroit. Pinto said he wants the project to honor the dozens of people who have been killed by ICE but did not receive the same national media coverage as Renee Good or Alex Pretti. “Renee Good was not the first to die under very horrible circumstances,” Pinto said. “It made me angry and it made me feel like I needed to do something about it. At the very least, I needed to memorialize those who had died. And this is what this exhibit is about — it is not a demonstration; it is not a protest; it is a somber event.” Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor, who attended the event, told the audience the city has recently passed a resolution expanding its policy of noncooperation with ICE. “We, back in 2017, passed a resolution which stated that we will never cooperate with ICE or civil
INDEX Vol. CXXXVII No. 10 ©2026 The Michigan Daily
immigration enforcement,” Taylor said. “We will never cooperate and honor detainer requests. We will not sign 287(g) agreements. And, we’ve gone further with this most recent resolution: They cannot use our non-public city land; they cannot use our parking lots for staging. We will never share your immigration information should we ever learn it.” Taylor said the city is working to create extra protections for residents. “We’re now on the cusp of putting together an ordinance which will require that the masks be taken away for law enforcement officers in the city — with appropriate safety limitations of course — and to require that law enforcement agents identify themselves, because that’s the least that we can do,” Taylor said. Pinto then memorialized the lives lost from ICE activity by asking the audience to line up in front of each name written on the fence. He passed a microphone down the line so that each member could read out one of the 52 names.
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