[animatedmartian]

Ann Arbor considering Chicago developer's $10M offer for Library Lot
By Ryan Stanton. MLive. January 11, 2016.



The Ann Arbor City Council is being asked to authorize the start of negotiations with a Chicago-based developer to sell the city-owned Library Lot for $10 million.

The city's administration is recommending the city enter exclusive contract negotiations with Core Spaces, one of two finalists whose development proposals for the downtown site have been under consideration since last year.

The City Council is expected to vote Jan. 19 on a resolution affirming Core Spaces as the finalist with the best offer.

If that resolution is approvedthe city's administration intends to bring a sale agreement to council for approval in April.

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Proposed 12-story high rise in Ann Arbor no longer geared toward student housing
Matt Durr. MLive. January 11, 2016.



City planners are reviewing plans for another residential high rise proposed on East Huron Street in downtown Ann Arbor.

Situated on the same block as the still-under-construction Foundry Lofts and Sloan Plaza, a new project known simply as "603 E Huron" would add 310 beds to downtown's ever growing amount of residential units available for rent.

Proposed by Chicago-based Core Spaces – which is also a finalist for the Library Lot proposals – plans for the apartment building were first submitted for design review in October.

The project was originally proposed as one of Core Spaces' "Hub on Campus" student housing developments. The company operates several of those developments on college campuses across the U.S. But since then, those plans have been altered.

At the citizen participation meeting held last month, representatives said the apartments will now be open to anyone seeking housing in the area, but expect tenants to mostly be graduate students or young professionals.

Construction on the 12-story, 124-unit building will begin in the spring or summer of 2016 depending on when the project is approved. The target completion date for the $22 million building is Aug. 1, 2017. The building would be constructed on the properties of 513 and 603 E. Huron.

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