[DetroitMan]

Fox Tent closing leaves downtown Ann Arbor property for sale as potential development site

By Laura Blodgett
Ann Arbor.com
January 8, 2011

Fox Tent & Awning Company, the long running tent rental and custom canvas provider located at 617 S. Ashley in Ann Arbor, closed at the end of December.

Now both the business and the property are for sale, said Larry Zahn, co-owner of Anchorage Realty, who is representing the property.

“This has been a family run business and Ann Arbor landmark for years,” said Zahn. “The current owners David and Becky Fox have retired and decided to put it all up for sale since they didn’t have anybody in the family to take over the business.”

Spanning nearly the entire block, the one acre parcel is bound by South Ashley, West Mosley and South Main St., across from South Main Market on one side and Washtenaw Dairy on the other.

The property includes the entire parking lot on the south end of the block as well as the three buildings currently occupied by Fox Tent, Delux Drapery & Shade Co., and Affordable Vet Services. Those two tenants are occupying their respective spaces under one-year leases starting this month.

The listing has the potential to drive larger-scale development on South Main Street.

Zahn said this property could be the very first parcel to appear under the new D-2 zoning district between downtown and the Old West Side neighborhood, with the potential to be turned into mixed-use development.

http://www.annarbor.com/business-rev...ent-potential/