Development News

Ann Arbor DDA to present underground garage plans to City Council

Concentrate Thursday, February 12, 2009

Parking is about to go underground in downtown Ann Arbor.

Excerpt:

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is going for City Council approval on Tuesday for its plans to build a 785-space underground parking garage next to the District Library�s downtown branch on Fifth Avenue.

"We're hoping for the approval so we can get to work improving the water mains and sewers this summer and the parking deck by this fall," says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority

Read the rest of the story here.

LED streetlights begin lighting downtown Ann Arbor

Concentrate Thursday, February 05, 2009

Downtown Ann Arbor is aglow with the light from LED.

Excerpt:

Downtown Ann Arbor is getting brighter and brighter every day ...now that city officials are in the home stretch of installing the energy-efficient LED lights.

"We're more than halfway done," says Andrew Brix, spokesman for the Ann Arbor Energy Office.

That means nearly 700 of the downtown's 1,100 streetlights have been relamped with LEDs. The remaining ones are set to be in by summer. The cost of replacing the incandescent bulbs with LEDs is pegged at $640,000. City officials expect to recoup those costs through electricity savings within 3.8 years.

Read the rest of the story here.

Retail grows at Plymouth Green Crossings

Concentrate Thursday, February 05, 2009

Plymouth Green Crossings is starting to rake in the greenbacks on the retail side.

Excerpt:

Businesses are snatching up leases in Ann Arbor's Plymouth Green Crossings and now the developer is working to make that possible for people who want to live there, too.

About two-thirds of the 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space is occupied. Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea and Umi Sushi recently joined Olga's restaurant, Ink Stop and Fifth Third Bank in the development on Ann Arbor's northeast side.

The development's location on a 10-acre parcel of land at Plymouth and Green roads between U.S. 23 and the old Pfizer site has played a key role in making that success possible. It is within a few driving minutes of downtown Ann Arbor, Domino's Farms, University of Michigan and the Toyota Technical Center.

"The retail portion is doing really, really well," says Julie Svinicki, real-estate agent for Plymouth Green Crossings.

Read the rest of the story here.

Mass transit poised to take big step forward in 2009

metromode Thursday, January 29, 2009

After years of laying groundwork, mass transit advocates are gearing up to start doing some building in 2009.

The projects include the long-awaited Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line and the Woodward streetcar line. Both of those are set to come online by October 2010, according to Metro Detroit Transit Czar John Hertel. He also added that a regional transit authority covering the entire tri-county area could be up and running by June.

He spoke at Transportation Riders United annual meeting in Detroit on Tuesday. There he laid out the long-range plan for regional mass transit that Metro Detroit�s Big 4 leaders unanimously approved in December. He expects the Big 4 to again unanimously approve a regional transit authority soon and then have the state legislature approve it, too, all before June.

Once that is done, a funding system, a.k.a. tax, needs to be determined. The regional authority also needs to be established for the projects to have a shot at the President Obama stimulus package money.

Source: John Hertel, transit czar for Metro Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor Greenbelt acquires desirable land, grant

Concentrate Thursday, January 29, 2009

Preserving the trees in Tree Town is a big deal for Ann Arbor resident Don Botsford.

Excerpt:

"Discrete human use is allowed by local fauna"
� sign on Don Botsford property just outside of Ann Arbor

It doesn't take long to figure out Don Botsford's politics on green space and its preservation. The lifelong Ann Arbor resident also known as Grandpa Don recently sold a 10-acre easement of woods and trails to Ann Arbor's Greenbelt. It joins a $10,000 grant to the Washtenaw Land Trust, helping further efforts to preserve green space around the college town.

Botsford's land is on Miller Road tucked away on the Scio Township side of M-14. The city of Ann Arbor and Scio Township are spending a little more than $300,000 to buy the land, but Botsford says the deal is not about the money.

"It seems like a lot of money but it's not like the offers I have received," Botsford says.

Read the rest of the story here.

RMT finishes Michigan wind farm construction

metromode Thursday, January 22, 2009

RMT has wrapped up construction on the largest wind farm in Michigan.

Michigan Wind 1 contains 46 wind turbines near Ubly toward the tip of the thumb. That's enough to produce 69 megawatts of electricity or enough power for 20,000 homes annually. That translates to nearly 124,000 tons of CO2 that won't go into the atmosphere each year.

The project also included building the support infrastructure for the wind farm, such as the substation, collector system, access roads, crane pads, crane paths and tower foundations. This is set amidst rural farmland a few miles from Lake Huron.

RMT is based in Madison, Wisc., but also has an office in Ann Arbor. It has taken on projects all across Michigan, including in Detroit.

Source RMT
Writer: Jon Zemke

U-M proposes adding 50,000 square feet to Crisler Arena

Concentrate Thursday, January 22, 2009

The University of Michigan is getting ready to add some space to Crisler Arena just as its basketball teams are starting to add up some wins.

Excerpt:

Expanding the University of Michigan's Crisler Arena never seemed to make much sense since the words Ed Martin entered into university vocabulary. Things have changed now that Wolverine fans have their first basketball team to get excited about in a long time.

Coincidence or not, U-M officials are making plans to add a "player development center" to the home of Cazzie Russell, the Fab Five and the 1989 National Champions. That 50,000-square-foot addition to the back of the arena comes with a $23.2 million price tag.

Read the rest of the story here.

Renovation of old bank storefront starts in downtown Ann Arbor

Concentrate Thursday, January 22, 2009

The old is becoming new again in downtown Ann Arbor.

Excerpt:

Work has begun on the Liberty retail expansion for the McKinley Towne Centre, a project that promises to bring a large chunk of downtown retail space back on line.

Ann Arbor-based McKinley is renovating the old home to National City Bank on Liberty Street next to the Michigan Theater.

Read the rest of the story here.

Major changes in store for Monroe St, Dominicks in Ann Arbor?

Concentrate Thursday, January 15, 2009

The street that serves both the University of Michigan's storied Law Quad and local pizza and sangria institution Dominick's looks like it is in for some major changes.

Excerpt:

The short stretch of Monroe Street on the University of Michigan's campus could undergo some radical changes within the next few years.

Those changes include turning part of the street next to the Law Quad into a pedestrian only space and possible future expansion to Casa Dominick's, a local drinking institution for students and townies.

Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor gives thumbs down to City Place development

Concentrate Thursday, January 08, 2009

Student housing is the "In" project in downtown Ann Arbor these days.

Excerpt:

More and more development pressure for new student housing in downtown Ann Arbor is mounting. The latest example is the City Place development, which hoped to bring more density to downtown. Unfortunately that won't be anytime soon after the City Council voted it down Monday.

The proposal called for a five-story brick-and-limestone apartment building on the east side of Fifth Avenue between William and Jefferson streets next to Blimpy Burger. It would house 164 bedrooms in 90 units. Those would go over one level of underground parking with enough space for 97 vehicles.

Read the rest of the story here.

U-M considers $45 million in building projects

metromode Thursday, December 18, 2008

It seems like there is always some sort of major construction project on the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus. A quick look at the college town's skyline reveals the ever-present view of sky cranes.

Construction may just see a boom as tonight the University's Board of Regents consider approving seven new projects worth $45 million.

The projects under consideration are:

$4.8 million for a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the Engineering School's Engineering Program Building on North Campus.
$20 million for an expansion of the Museum of Zoology and relocation of most of its "wet" collection to the University Stores building.
$4 million to renovate and retrofit the guest rooms the Business Administration Executive Dormitory.
$5.3 million to create a ultra-low vibration research laboratory in the basement level of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building.
$2 million to $2.8 million to create soccer fields on 12.5 acres next to the Varsity Tennis Center.
$4.2 million to renovate 6,400 square feet of General Clinical Research Center at the U-M Hospital into the Cardiovascular Center.
$4.5 million to renovate another 1,700 square feet of U-M Hospital to make room for new positron emission tomography/computed tomography scanners.

Most of these projects are set to begin early next year and finish toward the later end of 2009.

Source: University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke

Plans for The Madison make it leaner, meaner and more palatable to Ann Arbor City Council

Concentrate Thursday, December 18, 2008

The Madison is making a comeback in downtown Ann Arbor.

Excerpt:

Back again for the first time, it's The Madison. But the downtown development isn't bigger and better. This time it's a bit leaner and meaner.

Jeff Helminski, the developer, has cut the plans down from 14 stories to four after the Ann Arbor Planning Commission recommended rejecting the original plans. That means the number of rental apartments has been chopped from 161 to about 60.

Read the rest of the story here.

Local powerbrokers, state legislature give OK to mass transit plans

metromode Thursday, December 11, 2008

Metro Detroit's Big 4 just did something regional leaders haven't been able to do for generations � agree on a plan to improve mass transit.

The leaders of Oakland, Wayne, Macomb counties and the city of Detroit signed off on the master plan for regional transit championed by Metro Detroit Transit Czar John Hertel.

The plan will allow Hertel's team to streamline local service and pursue federal money for mass transit improvement projects. Among the first orders of business is getting the ball moving on the proposed Woodward streetcar line and the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail line. Both projects are expected to either be online or close to completion by late 2010.

The state legislature is also passing a number of bills that will allow these projects to move forward. They will basically allow for the establishment of a regional mass transit authority and funding mechanisms.

Both projects are expected to lead to billions of dollars of economic development in the neighborhoods surrounding the rail and streetcar stations.

Source: Megan Owens, director of Transportation Riders United
Writer: Jon Zemke

Avalon makes plans for mid-rise affordable housing in Ann Arbor

Concentrate Thursday, December 11, 2008

It looks like new affordable housing in Ann Arbor is starting to take the shape of a couple of mid-rise buildings.

Excerpt:

More mid-rise buildings are planned for Ann Arbor, this time along Main Street a few blocks north of downtown and west of the Amtrak train station

Three Oaks Development and Avalon Housing want to build a couple of 5-story buildings on the east side of North Main between Felch and Summit streets called North Main. Plans for the structures presented to the city show a suburban-style layout with modern buildings flanked by large surface parking lots.

The developers want to bulldoze seven single-family homes and a small corner store to make way for the project. These buildings have served in a traditional urban neighborhood on Ann Arbor's near north side for about a century.

Read the rest of the story here.

Metro Airport station set for Detroit-Ann Arbor rail line

metromode Thursday, December 04, 2008

The date to start service on the Detroit-Ann Arbor commuter rail project is set and most of the station locations have been determined.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments plans to begin operationing the rail line in October, 2010. It also has sited the station locations for all but one of the stops. Only Ypsilanti remains. SEMCOG is still working with the city officials to find a viable stop location.

The latest station announcement was the Metro Airport stop, which will go at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Henry Ruff Road on Wayne County property. Shuttle busses will connect the stop to Metro Airport.

SEMCOG officials and the myriad of train companies that control the track are still working out the logistics of how the commuter rail line will work and what improvements are necessary. Amtrak will provide the trains.

The commuter rail line would utilize existing tracks with stops at Metro Airport, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Dearborn. It's possible it could also be expanded to connect Royal Oak, Ferndale, Troy/Birmingham and Pontiac.

Source: Carmine Palombo, director of transportation for SEMCOG
Writer: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor : Development News