Commercial Real Estate in Ypsilanti, Michigan

About Ypsilanti

Ypsilanti grew from two settlements facing each other across the Huron River. A French-Canadian fur trader set up a post in 1809, Woodruff's Grove took shape on the east bank in 1823, and a west-side community formed in 1825, named for a hero of the Greek War of Independence. The two merged. Michigan State Normal School arrived in 1849 and became Eastern Michigan University, and the Michigan Central Railroad ran through town, where Elijah McCoy developed his automatic lubricator while working for the line.

The name covers two governments. The City of Ypsilanti is compact and mostly surrounded by Ypsilanti Charter Township, and the two are run separately. The city's commercial life is in downtown, in the Depot Town district by the tracks, and in the Water Street redevelopment area, which includes the old Michigan Avenue car dealership row.

The township holds Ford Lake and the Willow Run area. Ford's B-24 bomber plant, designed by Albert Kahn, later passed to Kaiser-Frazer and then to General Motors, and part of the site became the American Center for Mobility. Willow Run Airport remains a cargo base, home to Kalitta Air. Township commerce runs along Michigan Avenue, Ecorse Road, Washtenaw Avenue and Whittaker Road, with I-94 connecting it all.