Ann Arbor, Mich. — Residents and city leaders gathered Sunday on Ann Arbor’s West Side for the grand opening of Porter’s Place, a new community gathering space inside the Dunbar Tower affordable housing complex.
The space is named for Lucille Hall Porter, the founder of the Ann Arbor African American Downtown Festival. It will host intergenerational programming, arts and wellness events and partnerships with local organizations, and groups can apply to hold gatherings there.
The open house featured self-guided tours, and local historians shared stories of Black achievements in the neighborhood over the decades. Visitors also found free food trucks, art installations about the historically Black West Side and children’s activities.
Dunbar Tower is the first of several city-owned sites under development as affordable housing projects. The building is the first-ever collaboration between the Ann Arbor Housing Commission and Avalon Housing. Construction began in April 2024 and wrapped up in February 2026.
The tower contains 63 apartments. Thirty-two units serve unhoused Ann Arbor residents, with rent set at 30% of monthly income, and 31 units are set aside for low-income artists and creatives, with rent between $650 and $900.
