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Opus Adds Luxury Student Housing Near University of Michigan

Expanding its student housing development portfolio in 2015, Opus delivered ArborBLU, a 13-story luxury apartment complex near the University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor.

A vertical and horizontal expansion of Pizza House, a popular restaurant in the South University district, ArborBLU is a unique project that required a specific skill set to implement. Opus’ multidisciplinary team saw the opportunity and the challenge and decided it was an excellent fit for its diverse expertise. The highly complex project allowed them to leverage their design-build expertise to its fullest.

Opus’ team, including developers, structural engineers and project managers, worked closely with the city of Ann Arbor and restaurant owners from the start to ensure the final project fulfilled the original vision and delivered the highest student housing standard to the market.

ArborBLU has 113 units in one-, three and five-bedroom layouts with upscale finishings, including:

  • granite countertops,
  • flat-screen TVs,
  • private bathrooms,
  • a fully-equipped kitchen,
  • in-unit washer and dryer and
  • electronic key entry for the unit and individual bedroom doors.
ArborBLU also features upscale amenities, including an innovative fitness studio, cafe study lounge with a private study room, a rooftop terrace with a view of the stadium and a club room with a shuffle board and billiards table.


The complex was designed and built to meet LEED Silver certification.