[DetroitMan]

Controversial high-rise development gets Ann Arbor council’s unanimous OK

[A 17-story apartment high-rise outside downtown Ann Arbor is now approved for development despite a fair amount of lingering controversy over it.

City Council voted unanimously Monday night, May 6, to approve the project at 711 Church St., a stone’s throw from other high-rises just up the street in the South University Avenue area near the University of Michigan campus.

The 273 new apartments with over 1,000 bedrooms are expected to cater to the need for more student housing as UM continues to grow. City officials also hope it helps relieve pressure on the overall housing market to help curb skyrocketing rents.Council heard heated arguments for and against the project during a public hearing Monday night.

Some agree there’s a desperate need for more housing and the growing pains the city is going through are worth it, while critics contend the project is out of scale with the neighborhood and some worry about the impacts on neighbors such as the Towsley Children’s House and Alpha Delta Pi sorority.

“When does this stop?” said Marc Gerstein, who is concerned it’s going to alter the character of his neighborhood.

“Is everything north of Hill Street to be open to high-rise development?” he asked. Critics of the project said more than 200 residents signed a petition against it.

Council Member Erica Briggs, D-5th Ward, said she was disturbed by the tone of the public hearing and how some residents treated others with animosity and disparagement. She urged residents to consider the impact of their words and be respectful of each other.

“I understand that this is a project with a lot of divergent viewpoints and it’s challenging as we grow,” she said, saying the city is wrestling with challenging issues and trying to figure out the best ways to solve them.

A row of old residential structures already has been cleared along Church Street to make way for the high-rise. Two more houses along Willard Street will be next to go, as Texas-based developer LV Collective LLC plans to go forward with demolition in June.

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...nimous-ok.html