The devil may be in the details but the fun stuff is in the architectural renderings. Those and more should be on display when the three developers vying to transform 415 W Washington will present their plans to a city review committee sometime around the end of July.

The prize is the city's old Department of Public Works site located at 415 W Washington, just outside of downtown. The Ann Arbor Art Center, Chicago-based developer Morningside Group (the Liberty Lofts people) and the Old West Square LLC (a partnership that includes Peter Allen of Kingsley Lane and Lower Town fame) have all made bids to redevelop it.

The Old West Square's plans call for a mixed-use development that will focus on the cultural and arts community while strengthening a connection to a greenway and public space. The Ann Arbor Art Center wants to make the site its future home. Morningside wants to create a mixed-use development there.

The city put out a request for proposals for the nearly 2.5-acre site earlier this year. Picking a developer could happen as soon as the end of summer.

The former maintenance yard for the city and county DPW services is a few blocks northwest of downtown between Huron and Liberty streets and adjacent to the railroad tracks. City officials have determined that it is no longer needed for municipal operations.

The city requested redevelopment proposals that respect the surrounding residential neighborhood, utilize green building practices, mitigate floodplain issues and preserve the historical two-story industrial building built in 1907.

Source: Wendy Rampson, systems planner for the city of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke