I grew up in A2 and spent many nights downtown enjoying restaurants, trips to the MDen, etc. Ann Arbor and downtown is different now. There are new hotels and a ton of new high rise condos' and luxury apartments. It's no longer a small town area, its an expensive area to live and park. We stayed at the new AC Hotel on Huron and was in town for a graduation party.
I do enjoy them shutting down main Thursday - Sunday and letting the restaurants have a larger outdoor seating area. I will tell you living there so many years, it was strange walking in the middle of the street. Most of the restaurants and bars are different but seem to be busy, there is even live entertainment playing on Saturday night. I did enjoy the Beer Garden that was where that Home and Garden store used to be. It was a fun vibe and my family and I clearly increased the average age when we walked in.
Here is the shocker, Ann Arbor is completely under road construction. I've never seen it this bad. Many roads are blocked due to construction and you have to take detours. It's crazy that they have so many projects going on. You 100% know where your going but you can't get there directly and have to figure out a way to get there another way.
There are some staples still left, The Gandy Dancer hasn't changed at all, The Chop House is still around, even though MDen is gone, Rally House is there. 94 is still 94 and they need to do something outside DTW, that area looks like it needs to be knocked down.
I love Ann Arbor and always will, but its much different now. Change can be good and bring new vibes and money to an area. It also can be overwhelming and miss the mark. I think downtown might be a mix of both right now. I'll tell you one thing, whoever did the city planning on all this construction might have been on a sabbatical.
