Ann Arbor Construction updates

[deja vu]

Vic Village South progress. I thought this 13-story project would have been further along by now, but I think these photos are pretty current. The foundations are moving along, and the beginnings of the tower crane are in place. It's clearly a tricky site -






Source: Grand River Construction, Inc.

[DetroitSky]

8-story development called Southtown proposed on Ann Arbor’s State Street

ANN ARBOR, MI — An eight-story development is proposed to replace an entire neighborhood block of houses and apartment buildings in Ann Arbor.

Southtown is the name of the mixed-use project by local developer Prentice 4M, working with Synecdoche Design.

The block sits along the east side of State Street between Henry and Stimson streets — a block south of Stadium Boulevard. The site is surrounded by low-income housing complexes to the north and east, the Salvation Army thrift store to the south and the University of Michigan Golf Course to the west.

[DetroitMan]

Big redevelopment of Ann Arbor’s riverfront getting $20M from state

The state budget bill signed by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in July includes a $20 million appropriation for the Broadway Park West project planned for an old industrial property off Broadway Street along the Huron River north of downtown. Detroit-based Roxbury Group has had plans for years to redevelop the 14-acre DTE Energy site with four six-story buildings with 96 condos, a nine-story hotel with 148 rooms, a riverfront restaurant, commercial spaces, public green space, walking trails, an event pavilion and more. With funding in place now, initial site work could start this fall/winter, depending on final permitting and weather, or by next spring, said Roxbury principal David Di Rita.

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...rom-state.html

[DetroitMan]

Ann Arbor City Council signed off a deal to redevelop the University Inn property into a 4-story, 185-unit apartment building.

Ann Arbor OKs agreement for big Stadium Boulevard development

Farmington Hills-based Beztak Companies plans to move forward with potentially two years of construction next year.

Plans call for a U-shaped, 215,000-square-foot apartment building to rise around an existing office building, while three other buildings on the site will be torn down.

It’s planned as an all-electric building with rooftop solar panels in keeping with the city’s A2Zero sustainability goals.

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

[DetroitMan]

Ann Arbor just keeps getting taller

“Ann Arbor’s downtown residential market is essentially 100 percent occupied, which indicates there is still a housing shortage in downtown,” said Jason Doornbos, Landmark’s executive managing director of development. The city has “excellent demand drivers,” he said, citing the university’s growing student body, vibrant small businesses and the nearby hospital.

“I wanted to go for the field goal,” said Frehsee of his 19-story development's original proposal, which would have made it the single tallest building in the city. That plan was nixed by the city in favor of the smaller, though still significant, development.

“People say developers are trying to change and destroy this town,” he said. “I don’t feel that way at all. I want to make it the best city.”

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...tudent-housing

[Rizzo]

^ I believe all the tower development is well placed. It’s either clustered along Huron or replaced insignificant 1 story structures or lots. Ann Arbor still has all its character, at least visually, because most of all its original buildings are still there.

[DetroitMan]

These renderings really give a nice prespective of the SouthTown project..

Drawings give closer look at Ann Arbor’s SouthTown development proposal

There would be 250 new apartments, new office and retail space and outdoor green space open to the community.

The developer plans to submit a formal site plan to the city by the end of October, after which it will go through a months-long approval process that involves city staff reviews and then Planning Commission and City Council approval, with public hearings to be held by both bodies.

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

[deja vu]

Speaking of taller things... here's some more of Vic Village South - encouraging progress in a month, though I can't tell from these frames if the tower crane is fully installed -






Source: LinkedIn | Grand River Construction, Inc.

[DetroitMan]

Glad to see Ann Arbor finally embracing high density development outside of the downtown core...
210-acre, high-density rezoning on Ann Arbor’s west side gets initial OK

The varying height limits mean much of the new development that may be possible in the Maple/Stadium area would be limited to 75 feet or six stories tall, and there could be some 11-story buildings closer to the street where the Westgate Shopping Center is now and in the area between Maple and Stadium, Disch said. It won’t be a dramatic change since current zoning already would allow four-story residential developments on roughly two-thirds of the properties, she said.

Disch said she’s heard concerns the promise of greater density may attract developers and displace local businesses, but existing commercial buildings are only about 25% of the square footage allowed under the current zoning.

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

[deja vu]

U of M Health's new Clinical Inpatient Tower progress -






Source: U of M Facilities

[DetroitMan]

It will be interesting to see what comes out of this proposal.
Ann Arbor imagines higher-density redevelopment of federal site downtown

In an 11-0 vote Monday night, Nov. 21, Ann Arbor’s new City Council directed City Administrator Milton Dohoney to engage with federal officials in exploratory conversations to see if there’s interest in changing the use of the property.

“The current building does not provide a sufficient density of office space, nor any housing, nor is it configured in a way to promote a pedestrian-activated retail corridor, like much of the rest of downtown,” states the resolution sponsored by Council Members Erica Briggs and Lisa Disch.

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

[DetroitMan]

It's about time the city made it easier for developers to build in the city.
Ann Arbor aims to attract more development by making it easier for builders

With the city now aiming to attract high-density development along transit corridors with its new TC1 zoning, city leaders are discussing further steps to make the process smoother.

“I would expect some sweeping changes,” said Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward, who agrees with developers the city’s processes significantly increase the cost of development as developers have to spend months jumping through hoops.

“That’s money for developers,” she said, adding developers with lots of capital are the ones who can afford to do that.

At the first meeting of Ann Arbor’s new City Council Monday night, Nov. 21, Eyer gave a report on recent work by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which is led by an 11-member board of directors that includes Eyer, City Administrator Milton Dohoney and various community members and business leaders. It recently expanded its mission to go beyond just approving revenue bonds to really become a body that advises the city on economic development issues, Eyer said.

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

[DetroitMan]

It's hard to believe that UM hasn't built a new residence hall in 50 years.
University of Michigan adds new dorm for first time in decades

Regents voted unanimously to approve the new dorm and dining hall, which will house about 2,300 students, at Thursday's board meeting.

“Since 2004, undergraduate enrollment has increased by more than 8,000 students, yet on-campus housing has simply not kept pace,” said University of Michigan President Santa J. Ono. “Adding more on-campus housing capacity also will ensure more equitable access to affordable housing for those who need it.”

He said it's "critical" that first-year students feel connected to the campus community.

The residence hall will be built at Elbel Field, which currently serves as the Michigan Marching Band hub and intramural sports field.

The marching band will move to what used to be Fingerle Lumber. The university bought the 6.1-acre property in 2018.

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...m/69713681007/

[DetroitMan]

120 luxury apartments planned for Ann Arbor’s Main Street

Plans are in the works to create 120 new luxury apartments in downtown Ann Arbor by converting office space in a high-rise vacated by DTE Energy.

The development team behind the project at 414 S. Main St. unveiled details during a virtual meeting with neighbors over Zoom Thursday night, Dec. 8.

The plan is to convert floors two through seven of the nine-story building from offices into first-class apartments geared toward “higher demographic” professionals, with a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, said Steven Kalabat, one of the project partners who recently acquired the building.

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...in-street.html

[Rizzo]

For basically about forever I thought this building was already entirely residential.

[deja vu]

Originally Posted by Rizzo

For basically about forever I thought this building was already entirely residential.

Same here. I guess it was just the top-level condos, making the whole thing look like an apartment building.

"higher demographic" professionals - that sounds bad. They're basically saying "don't worry, we'll price out the trashier students and other riff raff."

[deja vu]

With a stellar regular season now in the books, Michigan Athletics has wasted no time with dismantling the existing scoreboards at The Big House to install some long-overdue new ones. I remember them glitching at the two home games I attended this season. Here's a unique view -


Source: LinkedIn | Alumni Association of the University of Michigan

[DetroitMan]

Ann Arbor unveiled designs today for an 18-story affordable housing tower on a city-owned lot next to the Blake Transit Center downtown. Personally, I really like the design of this tower.
Ann Arbor unveils design for new 18-story high-rise development

Ann Arbor officials have spent years talking about creating high-rise affordable housing downtown and now new drawings show what it could look like.

Working with design consultant SmithGroup, the Ann Arbor Housing Commission has unveiled a full set of architectural renderings showing its latest plans for two connected towers on the former YMCA property known as the Y Lot.

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

[deja vu]

^ Damn. Well that's big!

[DetroitMan]

Jack's Hardware will be replaced with a 14-story student housing tower..
Jack’s Hardware among buildings facing demolition for new Ann Arbor high-rise

Pending approval by City Council, plans call for tearing down Jack’s Hardware and several surrounding buildings, including a row of century-old houses on State Street, to make way for a new 14-story building with ground-floor retail space and about 360 apartments geared toward UM students.Plans include a mix of unit types ranging from one to four bedrooms.

The development, tentatively called 5 Corners, is proposed to take shape immediately north of Forsythe Park in the middle of the block bound by Arch, Packard and State streets.

The name comes from the fact that there are five corners at the intersection of State and Packard with Arbor Street also intersecting there, said Brad Moore, associate architect.

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...high-rise.html