Ann Arbor starts to dig hole for 5th Ave parking structure

The real digging begins this week on the 5th Avenue underground parking garage in downtown Ann Arbor.”We’re still on target to open it in late August 2011,” says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, which is quarterbacking the project.The DDA recently choose Lansing-based Christman Company to handle construction management for the $44 million project. Some of the details for the development, including which companies do which jobs and where to put all that dirt are still being worked out. We do know that the parking garage will be able to accommodate 677 automobiles and will go three stories underground. It is being built on the surface parking lot next to the Ann Arbor District Library’s Main Branch on Fifth. Part of the parking garage will also go under Fifth and replace all of the water and sewer lines in the area.The parking deck will feature a number of green features, including plentiful natural light, dimmers on the parking lights and LED lights to save electricity. It will also feature power outlets for electric cars and reuse gravel from the excavation in the cement for the structure.The city is also putting out a request for proposals to build something on top of the parking garage. Plans have raised from a conventional center to a mixed-use mid-rise building. The perimeter of the large site could reach as high as 4-6 stories. The interior of the block could go as high as 18 stories and facilitate office, residential or hotel space or even a combination of those.Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke