The University of Michigan Procurement Services prepares a complete report of all UM structures and buildings. I mapped this data with Excel’s 3D map feature and found some properties I hadn’t heard of.
These are some of the furthest out properties from Ann Arbor.
- Camp Davis is located near Jackson Hole, WY. Several geology type classes are offered in the summer.
- The McGraw Hill Observatory is listed in Tuscon at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory. However, it’s actually located at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in southern Arizona. It used to be located at the Portage Lake Observatory near Dover, MI. The telescope was moved to Kitt Peak in 1975 where it became part of the McGraw Hill Observatory.
- Stroke research center in Corpus Christi, TX
- Meteor observation stations in Neligh, NE and Carroll, IA
- A mercury monitoring station at the Franciscan University of Steubenville was set up in 2002 for a study on mercury levels in the Ohio River valley.
- Three offices in Washington, D.C., one of which houses federal lobbyists.
- Similarly, there’s a regional development office in Manhattan designed to raise funding for the university.
- Biological Station up north in Pellston, MI
- Sugar Island in the St. Mary’s River near Sault St. Marie
- The Alumni Association’s Camp Michigania is also up north near Boyne City, MI.
- A Great Lakes research ship called the Laurentian is based out of Grand Haven.
- UM owns property in the Mid Michigan Medical Center in Midland and the Metro Health Hospital in Grand Rapids.
- WVGR Radio Station, Wayland, MI. This is an affiliate of UM’s Michigan Radio network.
Interesting spots in Southeast Michigan:
- Lobbying office in Lansing
- Eyde Building of the MSU Radiology Department and the G. M. Trout FSHN Building of the MSU Food Science and Human Nutrition Department There’s some sort of collaboration between the two universities here.
- Survival Flight secondary station at the Livingston County Airport. One helicopter is based there, allowing the helicopter to reach patients in Livingston County much faster than if the helicopter was flying from Ann Arbor.
- Sailing Club Building on the shore of Base Line Lake near Dover
- Edwin S. George Reserve in Pinckney
- Some property in Detroit is listed: a historic house at 86 Elliot Street, a new five story development at 3901 Woodward Avenue, the Cass Corridor Commons, which is also a Unitarian-Universalist church, Orchestra Place, the home of the Detroit Orchestra, and One Ford Place, and office building. These may be erroneously listed as property of UM.
The North Campus, Central Campus, South Campus shape is evident here, reflecting the path of the proposed Ann Arbor Connector. A few places in the Ann Arbor area bear mentioning:
- Sheep Research Facility, 2615 Gale Road, Superior Charter Township
- Saginaw Forest, a nature preserve located west of Ann Arbor
- Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, located on South State St south of Ann Arbor, houses the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research which interestingly counts UM, MSU, and OSU as partners.
The high number on North Campus comes because of the many individual housing units in the Northwoods and Baits complexes.
Overall, there are 1,604 buildings and structures listed in the document. Going through the data and seeing the wide range of buildings that UM owns gave me an even greater appreciation for its influence.