Rumors are swirling around town that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and his wife Sue have purchased a 4,644-square-foot condo in downtown Ann Arbor.

And apparently the rumors are true.

Rick and Sue Snyder pose for a photo during a charity event in 2014.

The condo is above the Four Directions retail shop on Main Street, between Liberty and Washington streets, in the heart of downtown Ann Arbor.

"It's actually for Rick and Sue," said Tamara Burns, the architect working on an addition planned for the condo, which occupies the top two floors of a historic three-story building.

Burns said she met this past week with the Snyders, who are now officially empty nesters, and they're excited to be moving downtown.

"They love downtown Ann Arbor and want to be a part of it," Burns said of the governor and first lady, who for the last several years have lived in a home in a gated community in Superior Township, just outside of Ann Arbor.

City assessor's records show an entity called Ann Arbor Main Street Condo LLC purchased the condo at 211 S. Main St. for $1.5 million in August.

The city's Planning Commission voted Tuesday night to approve a $500,000 rooftop addition to the condo.

Sara Wurfel, a spokeswoman for the governor, confirmed on Wednesday that it's official: The condo is for the governor and first lady.

"As empty nesters with their youngest now off to college, they are looking to downsize but still call Ann Arbor home," Wurfel said. "Their three children are all in the Ann Arbor area, and the Snyders are very fond of the area."

Burns, who appeared as the representative for Ann Arbor Main Street Condo LLC at Tuesday night's meeting, said her firm was chosen for the project after doing some work on the governor's residence on Mackinac Island.

"We're preservation architects," she noted. "We wanted to be very respectful of the historic nature of downtown, which I think we've accomplished, while providing our clients what they were looking for."

The expansion plans for the condo include constructing a 514-square-foot rooftop addition and roof deck overlooking Main Street, and enclosing one rear-facing balcony on both the second and third floors, for a total of 704 square feet of new space

"This room up on the fourth floor allows them a little area to be able to get outside, with a little deck off of it," Burns said. "And it just expands the interior space."

The submitted plans show a wall-mounted bicycle rack with room for three bicycles. There's a garage accessible from an alley behind the building.

City Planner Jill Thacher said the historic building was constructed in 1868 or 1872 and Florian Muehlig was listed as the first occupant. The 1869 city directory lists Muehlig as both an undertaker and furniture manufacturer and dealer.

Property records show the Snyders purchased their home off Geddes Road for $920,000 in 1997. It had a state equalized value of $691,000 as of last year, putting its market value somewhere around $1.4 million.

Burns said it's her understanding they'll be selling the house and officially becoming downtown Ann Arbor residents.

Snyder first came to Ann Arbor in the mid-1970s to attend the University of Michigan, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1977, a master's in business administration in 1979 and a law degree in 1982, all by the age of 23.

The former Gateway Computers executive and Ann Arbor venture capitalist is now in his second term as Michigan's governor.

Fresh off re-election and overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy case, Snyder has generated national buzz as a potential Republican presidential candidate for 2016.

Ed Shaffran, who is known in Ann Arbor as "Mr. Downtown" and owns several commercial properties in the downtown, said he's only heard rumors that the Snyders are moving downtown. If it's true, he said, that's fabulous.

"It's nice that people are moving downtown and want to live downtown," he said. "I think it's great. It's an interesting move that he's coming downtown."

The condo was featured in The Ann Arbor News last year for a story about the market for high-end condos in downtown Ann Arbor heating up. At the time, the unit was listed for sale for more than $1.7 million.

The condo, rehabbed by architect Carl Luckenbach in 2007, was listed as having two bedrooms and two-and-a-half bathrooms, along with original plank flooring, a stainless steel kitchen island, two wood-burning fireplaces and a 500-square-foot outdoor patio.

The list price of $1.725 million, or $371 per square foot, made it one of the most expensive residences for sale in downtown Ann Arbor.

Luckenbach had listed the condo for $2.1 million in 2007, and the last owners paid $1.425 million in 2008, property records show.

Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com or 734-623-2529 or follow him on Twitter.