ANN ARBOR, MI – Downtown Ann Arbor has changed a lot in the last decade, growing taller, denser and more lively.

Several high-rises have sprouted, replacing parking lots and modest structures from decades past, and several thousand more people are living and working in an increasingly vibrant urban core.

Google street-view images from 2007 to 2018 document the dramatic transformation, which has been met with mixed feelings from longtime residents, some of whom mourn the loss of what used to be.

Drag the slider bar on each image below for a before-and-after view of various downtown-area sites to see just how much things have changed.

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Several new apartment high-rises have sprouted along the Huron Street corridor. The Firestone auto repair lot at right is now the site of a proposed hotel tower:

13-story Varsity apartment high-rise replaces two-story office building on Washington Street:

10-story Ann Arbor City Club Apartments, with some public parking, replaces parking lot at First and Washington:

18-unit condo building, called 121 Kingsley West, rises at Kingsley and Ashley:

13-story Sterling ArborBLU apartment high-rise, part of which rose above Pizza House, on Church Street:

New apartments replace several old businesses on South Main Street:

Another look at South Main Street’s transformation, with the old Fox Tent and Awning site at left:

Historic house on Huron Street is surrounded by high-rises, with another now proposed on the site to the right:

South University Avenue area continuing to undergo a major transformation with several new high-rises, while yet another is planned to replace remaining small buildings in the foreground:

Another look at South U’s changing face:

12-story Vic Village North apartment high-rise with ground-floor retail replacing two-story commercial buildings on South U:

South U buildings that housed shops like Middle Earth coming down for more high-rise development:

12-story Hub Ann Arbor high-rise replaces parking lot between Sloan Plaza condos and the former Campus Inn hotel (now called the Graduate):

14-story Foundry Lofts apartment high-rise, with ground-floor retail, replaces modest buildings on Huron Street, including old Papa John’s pizza shop:

New condos and a fish sculpture park replace old houses at First and Kingsley:

Flatiron condo/office building rises on blighted, former gas station site on Detroit Street:

State Theatre on State Street undergoes expansion and restoration as businesses around it change:

View of the Zaragon and ArborBLU high-rise sites in the South U area:

City Place apartment buildings replace row of century-old houses on Fifth Avenue after city rejects historic district designation:

The 10-story 411 Lofts high-rise, now called YOUnion at Ann Arbor, brings new apartments and ground-floor retail space at Division and Washington:

The University of Michigan Credit Union takes over and renovates the old Ann Arbor News building at Division and Washington as high-rises take shape nearby:

New condo building rises at Huron and Ashley, with The Ann Arbor News/MLive and other businesses occupying lower-level spaces, while new hotel rises across the street:

Residence Inn and Zingerman’s Greyline rise on old gas station and bus depot sites at Huron and Ashley, as the historic Glazier Building at Main and Huron undergoes restoration:

Old bus depot facade and sign restored and incorporated into new hotel development:

Even the Fourth and William public parking garage got fancier:

Downtown library gets updated look, entryway redesign:

Four-story underground garage added on Library Lot on Fifth Avenue where city planned a high-rise and voters in 2018 instead approved a park/commons yet to be created:

Police-courts building added onto city hall at Huron Street and Fifth Avenue:

Village Corner store on South U makes way for 14-story Landmark apartment high-rise with ground-floor retail:

Jolly Pumpkin arrives on Main Street and six-story office/retail building starts to rise:

The Mark condo building replaces old car wash on Liberty Street:

14-story Zaragon West apartment high-rise with a ground-floor pizza parlor rises where old bank stood at William and Thompson:

51-unit condo building rises on old J.C. Beal Construction site between Felch and Kingsley:

While making downtown more lively with its free Sonic Lunch summer concert series at Liberty Plaza, Bank of Ann Arbor renovates and expands its Fifth Avenue office:

The flagship Borders book store on Liberty Street is converted into several smaller retail/office/restaurant spaces:

Another look at the loss of Borders:

Condos rise on Fourth Avenue next to Braun Court in Kerrytown:

New condos on North Main Street replace a blighted and abandoned Greek church with broken windows and a hole in its roof:

Smaller structures, including the old Blimpy Burger, make way for the University of Michigan’s new Munger graduate dorm on Division Street:

The UM Law School’s new South Hall academic building, renamed to Jeffries Hall in 2018, rises on Monroe Street:

UM’s new North Quad residential and academic complex rises at State and Huron, replacing the old Ann Arbor High School building known later in life as UM’s Frieze Building:

The facade of the old Carnegie Library on Huron Street and architectural elements from the old high school are integrated into the new North Quad development:

CVS comes to State Street, expanding downtown grocery, pharmacy and medical clinic offerings:

Walgreens follows CVS to State Street, setting up shop inside the old Michigan Book & Supply space across from the UM Diag:

Tower Plaza, the 26-story apartment high-rise built at William and Maynard streets in the 1960s, gets an updated look:

Another look at Foundry Lofts on Huron Street:

Another look at the Vic Village North high-rise site on South U:

Another look at the six-story office/retail building rising on Main Street:

The historic Kleinschmidt building on Huron Street, dating back to the 1800s, is renovated and transformed into a new downtown tech hub:

The famous Zingerman’s Deli expands at the corner of Detroit and Kingsley streets in Kerrytown:

Old gas station building at Liberty and Second streets is repurposed as the Argus Farm Stop produce store:

More tech companies arrive and expand downtown, including Barracuda Networks on Maynard Street:

More changes on South U:

A new city parking lot is created after buildings on the old YMCA property along William Street, including 100 affordable housing units, are demolished by the city:

Another look at the former YMCA property, where city leaders are considering redevelopment options, including new affordable housing:

A new Blake Transit Center is built, while the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, also known as TheRide, expands to become the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority:

Blank Slate Creamery moves into and fixes up old building at First and Liberty, where actor Michael Cera’s character blew up a car in the 2009 comedy film “Youth in Revolt”:

UM’s new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital rise on East Medical Center Drive:

UM’s new Biological Sciences Building, including a new Museum of Natural History, rises off North University Avenue:

UM’s new School of Nursing building rises on Ingalls Street just north of downtown:

As the downtown business mix changes, here a building at Liberty and Division that housed a furniture rental store welcomes new tenants, including the Mani Osteria and Bar, and ArborMetrix, a healthcare analytics company:

The Literati Bookstore comes to Washington Street, while new apartments take shape above ground-floor retail as part of a vertical expansion of an old commercial building on Fourth Avenue:

UM opens its new Stamps School of Art and Design gallery on Division Street:

New upscale residences on the fringes of downtown on North Ashley Street:

More upscale residences come to North Fifth Avenue near downtown:

New condos rise next to city park on North Main Street:

The Grotto opens at Ashley and Liberty and becomes a popular hangout spot with its outdoor patio area, along with Bill’s Beer Garden (not pictured) kitty-corner across the street:

Detroit Street Filling Station, a spinoff of the Lunch Room vegan restaurant, livens up this corner in Kerrytown, often with live music on its patio:

Businesses on Main Street continue to update their looks:

UM’s Institute for Social Research expands its presence on Division Street:

UM’s new Ross School of Business building rises on Tappan Street:

Older parts of UM’s business school on East University Avenue also undergo renovations:

Some things, like the century-old Nickels Arcade on State Street, haven’t changed much:

While several more high-rises are in the pipeline and more are expected in the coming years, much of downtown is protected by historic districts, including sizable portions of the Main Street and State Street areas. So, even as new towers rise in certain zones, including one coming behind the Michigan Theater, a fair amount of the old architectural character and charm that many residents and visitors still enjoy may stay preserved for years to come.

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