text: Ann Arbor had set aside 40 acres ( 16 ha ) that it hoped would become the site for a new state capitol , but it offered this land to the university when Lansing was chosen as the state capital .
simplified: Ann Arbor had set aside 40 acres ( 16 ha ) that it hoped would become the site for a new state capitol , but it gave this land to the university when Lansing was chosen as the state capital .