That march of (possible) development spreading north and west of Downtown Ann Arbor.
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Ann Arbor has an odd case of NIMBYism. Residents want lesser density but also want less (or none) sprawl. It seems like straight up a demand for population control.
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Those townhomes look nice.
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They might not get built if the NIMBY neighbors have their way.
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I'm confused. From what little research I've done, this land at Nixon at Dhu Varren - if I have the right parcel - is just across Nixon in adjacent Ann Arbor Township. What say would the Ann Arbor City Council have in this? Or is this just them venting at Ann Arbor? Because it sounds like me they should be taking this up with the Ann Arbor Township Board of Trustees.
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Well, that's what I get for originally not reading the whole thing. lol
Anyway, I can kind of see the current residents' points, at least on the traffic issue. I've always been surprised how quickly Ann Arbor gets windy and sprawly right outside the core/inner-city, and without the road capacity and connections to really handle the traffic in the residential neighborhoods. It was planned and built differently than the likes of Flint, Lansing and Grand Rapids, which are pretty heavily/regularly gridded outside their cores. |
My guess is that since the city wasn't as founded on manufacturing like the other mentioned cities, it wasn't really expected to see high growth. That "smalltown charm" is definitely because it was built like one that would've been in the middle of a rural area. Even a lot of Michigan cities that are smaller in population seem more gridded and planned out than Ann Arbor.
The freeways don't help either. If you notice, A2 doesn't have a spur or loop that goes into Downtown Ann Arbor like in most other cities in Michigan. M-14 looks like it could have almost kept going down Main and then turn right at Huron and connect to 94 from there, but it doesn't. Ann Arbor just seems like an odd-ball city. |
For the better though. A spur downtown would have been destructive. Heck, I94 BR or Huron/washtenaw is undesirable, which is why it was left for institutional buildings, service stations and frat houses. M-14 cannot be upgraded so it will remain as is for a very long time unless it is ever removed and relocated.
Ann Arbor was always a farming town, and interestingly never intended to be a university town until the original 40 acres were acquired. |
That's the one thing I'm glad never happened to Ann Arbor. I can't even imagine how much of the inner-city would have been taken out had a freeway been rammed through. We only have one freeway driven through Lansing that actually didn't do as much damage as quite a few other inner-city highways. But, like you said, Hayward, even the business routes can be destructive. In fact, it's the business routes and surface state highways (BR 96, BR 69/MI-43 and MI-99) which made downtown Lansing into an island by destroying and fraying the edges of the district.
Yes, the cities I mentioned and Ann Arbor is definitely their purpose. We're talking industrial centers versus a college town that never expected to get as big as it did. |
Didn't enjoy seeing this in the paper this morning. Just a few miles northwest of this site, a developer is in the really early stages of trying to put up a massive development of low-density homes along Whitmore Lake Road in Northfield Township:
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Unfortunately as the economy picks up, the sprawl machine will pick up as well. Washtenaw is going to become the next Oakland County but with triple the inadequate roads. :yuck:
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http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-ar...ing_rents.html
Rents in Ann Arbor are skyrocketing. Quite a few landlords reporting apartments with 100% occupancy. Others are also reporting 10% rate increases over the last year. There's no sign of demand letting off as Ann Arbor/Washtenaw County is expected to grow in employment during the next few years. |
I'm paying less for a gut rehab condo rental in chicago than my worn out vintage apartment in Ann Arbor. I paid about $1000 / month for a small 1BR near kerrytown in 2009. It's typical in college towns to be expensive and also a reason why new college grads don't blink an eye when they see rents as they move off to the big city
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Gangbusters. Can't help but feel a little bit cheated up here in the capital city, but glad to see so much positive Michigan development news lately. Now if they could just get a handle on the affordability issues.
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25-unit condo building proposed in downtown Ann Arbor
By Lizzy Alfs. November 03, 2014. Longtime Ann Arbor developer Tom Fitzsimmons has plans for another low-rise condo building downtown. Fitzsimmons, of Huron Contracting LLC, submitted plans to Ann Arbor’s Design Review Board to construct a four-story, 25-unit condominium building at 408-412 N. First St., between West Kingsley Street and Miller Avenue. There are two existing structures on the site: a residence at 412 N. First and Huron Contracting’s offices at 408 N. First. Fitzsimmons said he has an option to purchase the site at 412 N. First St. from registered owner Karl Lopata. The property has a 2014 assessed value of $135,700. “We see a strong demand for downtown condos, and we’re attempting to fill that demand,” Fitzsimmons said. “If we have the ability to bring a project online once a year and be able to deliver 15 to 20 condos, we see that we’ll be able to increase supply and meet that demand.” Fitzsimmons is in the midst of building two low-rise condominium projects in the downtown area: an 18-unit project at 414 N. Main and 401 N. Fourth that is nearing completion, and a 22-unit project at 121 Kingsley that Fitzsimmons expects will get underway this fall. The majority of the site at 408-412 N. First St. is located in the Allen Creek flood plain or flood way. It’s in the city’s D2 zoning, which has a maximum allowable building height of 60 feet. Four stories of residential units would be constructed atop lower level parking with 37 spaces. Five additional parking spaces would be located nearby in an easement held with the property owner to the south. Parking is hidden from view from public streets by metal screening and landscaping, the plans say. .... https://38.media.tumblr.com/2f66a932...8zjo1_1280.png https://33.media.tumblr.com/3bf2526b...8zjo1_1280.png https://33.media.tumblr.com/0dff885c...8zjo1_1280.png https://38.media.tumblr.com/371c69dd...8zjo1_1280.png https://38.media.tumblr.com/c4d17852...8zjo1_1280.png https://38.media.tumblr.com/6e988d71...8zjo1_1280.png |
Hopefully this doesn't become a trend.
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The height limits will ultimately make things look worse. You'll have these oppressive canyons of fat and squat buildings rather than slender tall ones that allow light to permeate to streets, add character to the skyline and facilitate better preservation of existing structures since density would be more concentrated.
I know besides typical zoning setbacks Ann arbor probably enforces some design guidelines in regard to terracing and stepping higher floor levels that could add some interest. But creating height ceilings doesn't stop Ann arbor from continuing to grow and replace existing buildings with what will become a plateau of boxy midrises |
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