Hear that? That's the sound of Ann Arbor's ego getting bigger as another publication ranks it as one of the smartest places to live in the U.S.Excerpt:In 1902, the Michigan Wolverines football team beat the pants off Stanford, 49-0, in the first Rose Bowl. Unlike with some other football-centric colleges, Ann Arbor has become a bastion of the arts and activism.Read the rest of the story here.
The products of innovation coming from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is starting to gain attention on a national scale.Excerpt:I have seen a prototype of their technology in action and it is very impressive - could be an interesting solution to some of wind energy's challenges - particularly for off-shore or near-shore wind.Read the rest of the story here.
The Legacy Land Conservancy finished 2009 strong but expects to easily out flex that performance early this year.The conservancy --think of it as the non-profit greenbelt for Washtenaw and Jackson counties-- closed five deals in the closing weeks of 2009. That means a little less than 200 acres of woods, farms and wild areas are now protected from development because the conservancy controls their development rights."We have projecting moving forward now," says Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land Conservancy, formerly the Washtenaw Land Trust. "In the first quarter or half of 2010 we expect to make or exceed that number."Those deals will protect high-priority acreage, meaning property that is farmland, near the Huron River or near the Pinckney and Waterloo recreation areas.Source: Susan Lackey, executive director of the Legacy Land ConservancyWriter: Jon Zemke
If you want to see all that the city of Ann Arbor can be, don't go to city hall. Go the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. There local developer Peter Allen, who is also an adjunct member of the university's faculty, challenged his students to come up with plans for three of the city's most critical development areas – the Library Lot, Fuller Street Transit Station and Huron Riverfront. They came up with about half a dozen plans (realistic ones with real numbers) that will serve as the basis for further development in Ann Arbor."I have 3 more classes and many teams this semester that will be following up in more detail," Allen wrote in an email. "We just really scratched the surface."The winning three plans can be seen here. They don't have all of the professional flourish developers presenting to the city have, but they are creative enough to drive this city full of NIMBYs crazy. Think innovative uses, modern design (mostly), no height limits and very urban design.The Library Lot is what to build above the underground garage the Ann Arbor DDA is building next to the downtown library branch. The Fuller Street Transit Station is the intermodal transportation station proposed for just north of the University of Michigan Hospital. The Huron Riverfront is the Amtrak/MichCon brownfield property just north of the Broadway Bridge.Source: Peter Allen, president of Peter Allen & AssociatesWriter: Jon Zemke
A lot of people took the holidays off this year. Not the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, as it spent more than half a million dollars on developments in the college town's downtown area.The big ticket item is $500,000 for the Near North project on North Main Street, a few blocks north of downtown. The grant will help get the affordable housing project off the ground. The development would build 40 apartments for entry-level workforce (people who make less than $33,000 annually) and provide permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless or have disabilities. "It's really exciting for us because it helps move more downtown employees into the core area," says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.The stocking stuffer is a $50,000 grant for the Library Lot project. The DDA is giving the money to the city so it can hire a real-estate consultant to help guide city officials through the six proposals for the site next to the Ann Arbor District Library's downtown branch. The idea is to have a consultant from outside Washtenaw County and not affliated with any of the development teams bring a fresh pair of eyes to the process."It would be a very objective look," Pollay says.The RFP for the consultant is due today. The developers behind the proposals will be making public presentations on them on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week at the Ann Arbor District Library's Downtown Branch. There will also be a Q&A session from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday at the library.Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke
The Clean Energy Coalition is trying to make green building and renovation more accessible this year by offering sustainable building classes this month. The classes will be held in the Green Classroom at the non-profit's Energy Outlet retail space in Depot Town. The classes will touch on subjects such as "Green Investing" (information and strategies on investing with a green purpose), "Green Financing," (information on how homeowners can finance their green remodeling projects) and"Weatherization Techniques" (demonstrations on how to utilize weather stripping and air sealing techniques). The classes start with Weatherization Techniques at 7 p.m. today and continue each Wednesday evening through the rest of January. For information, click here or call (734) 483-9000.Source: Clean Energy CoalitionWriter: Jon Zemke
The solar panels are up on the back of Ypsilanti's City Hall, the wires are connected and now all the project needs to begin generating electricity is finish the paperwork.The grassroots group of solar-power activists behind the project are just waiting for officials from the city and DTE Energy to sign off on the last of the paperwork this month before flipping the switch. The panels are expected to be working and the group's website tracking how much electricity is generated by the end of February. "I need one more piece," says Dave Strenski, a volunteer with the Ypsilanti Solar Panel Project.A $36,000 grant and some local fundraising/volunteer efforts were key to making the 12 solar panels a reality. The group of volunteers is now training its focus on expanding the number of solar panels on the roof of the bakery for Ypsilanti Food Co-op. That project is expected to begin this spring and wrap up later in the year. The electricity generation from the existing panels is also expected to increase because of the recent installation of a white roof that will reflect more light onto the panels. Source: Dave Strenski, volunteer with the Ypsilanti Solar Panel ProjectWriter: Jon Zemke
Though history hasn't always been kind to progressive development in Ann Arbor, there's a real chance that the south side of downtown will evolve into a denser, more vibrant area now that two significant projects are moving toward approval.First, a deal appears to possible for the City Place development. The developer, Alex de Parry, has resubmitted plans that preserve the original houses and build dense housing behind them. The new development along Fourth Avenue is called Heritage Row and is planned for Fifth Avenue just north of Packard Street.The new plans call for 44 1- and 2-bedroom apartments that will feature 163 beds and 60 underground parking spaces. The original houses, including one of the oldest in the city, will be restored and have three apartment buildings behind them in a layout that is reminiscent of the Chicago- or C-style apartment buildings of the early 20th Century.Also making its way through the approval process is the Moravian development on the north side of Madison Street across from Fingerlee Lumber. The development recently received near-unanimous approval from the Planning Commission and is heading to City Council next in April."It's a big step forward," says Jeff Helminski, the developer behind the Moravian.The Moravian features 4-5 stories (depending on which end of building you start at) with 62 apartments and 160 bedrooms. The developer* hopes to include geothermal heating system and go for LEED certification. Affordable housing units, about 19 percent of the units, will also be part of the mix.A level of ground-floor parking (90 spaces) behind 3-6 units of ground floor commercial on Madison is also proposed. The ground floor retail units will be connected to residential units above figuratively but not physically because the ground floor area is in a flood plain. The retail spaces will measure between 600-1,500 square feet and will be available for the likes of professional offices (architects, attorneys, etc) or even art galleries.Source: Jeff Helminski, developer of the MoravianWriter: Jon Zemke *Full disclosure: Former Concentrate publisher Newcombe Clark is one of the partners on the Moravian development project.
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