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Ann Arbor development

ZachariahDaMan

By ZachariahDaMan
in Ann Arbor

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ZachariahDaMan Burg

ZachariahDaMan

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I figured it was about time to make a thread for Ann Arbor development rather then making a new thread for everything.

This was in the Ann Arbor News today:

A new 10-story condominium and commercial building at Division and Washington streets is the latest proposal in the push to transform downtown Ann Arbor into a residential hub.

The rest of the article

It's a really interesting article because it mentions all the other projects going on downtown right now.

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tomo Whistle-Stop

tomo

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Good news. This is the first I'd heard of the Gallery in Kerrytown. I would have expected heavy opposition from the nimbys in that area. I know some of the projects mentioned have already been approved but I'm expecting there to be lots of anti-density people showing up at that public hearing in April. The conversion of that large TCF bank building is going very slowly... ever since they put up those renderings of a lively restaurant scene and painted the building brown. But I do believe they've started doing something to the parking lot next to it...

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wolverine Town

wolverine

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Good news. This is the first I'd heard of the Gallery in Kerrytown. I would have expected heavy opposition from the nimbys in that area. I know some of the projects mentioned have already been approved but I'm expecting there to be lots of anti-density people showing up at that public hearing in April. The conversion of that large TCF bank building is going very slowly... ever since they put up those renderings of a lively restaurant scene and painted the building brown. But I do believe they've started doing something to the parking lot next to it...

I saw the building painted brown-- yuck it looked so ugly. It was too dark of a color. For some reason, I doubt there will be much controversey on this one. Washington is a commercial corridor, and any homes nearby are rental properties. The only people who seem to give a lot of flack about development are the 4th Ward residents. They need to worry less about tall buildings and more about the university devouring their neighborhood.

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ZachariahDaMan Burg

ZachariahDaMan

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That is the idea, Ann Arbor would be a link off the Detroit forum. Many of the other forums have this. See Charlotte for an example.

I think that sounds like a great idea. Like someone said in the thread on the Illinois forum, if the forum is made then people will come. I love Ann Arbor, I spend more time there then any other downtown (except Plymouth) and would love to be able to talk about it more.

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tomo Whistle-Stop

tomo

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I saw the building painted brown-- yuck it looked so ugly. It was too dark of a color. For some reason, I doubt there will be much controversey on this one. Washington is a commercial corridor, and any homes nearby are rental properties. The only people who seem to give a lot of flack about development are the 4th Ward residents. They need to worry less about tall buildings and more about the university devouring their neighborhood.

Plenty of haters on the Old West Side too... Old Fifth Ward, and so on. I've encountered a high percentage of people who are against tall buildings on Huron.

Would adding an Ann Arbor sub-forum make it more difficult to see what's going on in the metro at a glance just by loading up the metro Detroit forum?

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wolverine Town

wolverine

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Zach, if you don't mind, I'm going to make an official Ann Arbor development thread similar to GR's. It will remain closed like theirs as well so that it provides a clear resource as to what's going on. Then if new projects come about people can post stuff about them in new threads, and I'll add the specs of the project to the development thread. Since this thread basically covers the addition of a new forum which has already happened, I'll close this one later. Until then, people can continue posting in this one until the official development thread is made.

Is everyone okay with that? Again, this model will be similar to the one in the GR section.

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MJLO City

MJLO

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Can someone tell me where I might be able to compile a list of AA developements? I'm having trouble doing it myself online. There are an awful lot of developements happening here, and noone seems to be commenting on them or saying what they'd like to see in Ann Arbor. I pose the question again, will the city not stand for some high rises to compliment the city scape? I would think it would add to the health of the city and maybe attract more companies if they were to put more of a corporate presence in the area. Definately could help the local businesses already there. It seems there is a theme, with college towns, no buildings over a certain height!

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wolverine Town

wolverine

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Here is the compiled list of U of M projects on the Plant Extension website: http://static.flickr.com/50/143846843_84df04c4c1_b.jpg

Other major projects going on right now include Liberty Lofts, Ashley Terrace, and that 5 story condo building going up near division and Liberty Street.

There's also several proposed projects that I've only seen renderings for, but nothing official.

If all goes well, the Lower Ann Arbor redevelopment project will be the largest in Ann Arbor. It's basically going to be a second "downtown" on what is now some abandoned strip malls. It looks impressive. Anticpation for this project began years ago, and as you may noticed there are a bunch new rowhouses down there.

St. Joseph Mercy Hospital is building that new tower on their medical campus. I'm not quite sure what other expansions are planned.

I have photos of all of these projects.

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wolverine Town

wolverine

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They do allow tall buildings, but it depends on where the developer wants to put one. For example, there was supposed to be two towers, one of them twenty floors that was proposed for where that vacant Greek Orthodox Church is located on Main Street. I believe the planning comission, city council, and historic preservationists found the height to be too tall for that location. IMO, it was. A twenty story building on the edge of the downtown surrounded by 2 story frame houses and a couple lowrises isn't the best option. Instead, the developer should have chosen a site further within the CBD to get his towers approved.

There is a proposal that was presented months ago to the city council for the parking lots behind the federal building. It included two highrise residential towers I believe. It was posted awhile back, but look under the Detroit section. It was one of a few proposals for that site, there were others and I'm not sure what one was chosen, or if a choice was officially made.

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wolverine Town

wolverine

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That's for the area behind the federal building. There were so many proposals that called for ripping up the transit center and redoing it, creating underground parking or tearing down the old Y building that I wasn't sure just how much the block the selected proposal would modify. From what it sounds like, I'm guessing the old YMCA would be demolished. Good riddance since it's one of Ann Arbor's ugliest. But I wouldn't call 14 floors a highrise. I'm just waiting for Ann Arbor to finally break the 20 floor mark again sometime in the near future.

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