Ann Arbor DDA exploring options for Fifth Ave underground parking garage

More parking is on its way to downtown Ann Arbor, but in a place most people won’t see.

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority wants to build a 500-space underground parking garage where the massive surface parking lot now stands adjacent to the Ann Arbor District Library’s main branch. The DDA expects to present a site plan to the city in September.

Among the ideas being considered are giving preferred parking to fuel-efficient vehicles and incorporating energy efficient LED lighting and natural lights. Planners are also looking into the possibility of extending the parking garage underneath Fifth to provide more spaces. Such a move would close down Fifth for months.

The DDA hired two firms, Walker Parking Consultants and Luckenbach/Ziegelman Architects, to design the three-story underground structure. It is also trying to purchase a few homes adjacent to the parking lot to complete the half-block parcel between the Ann Arbor District Library and the Federal Building. City officials are still debating what to put above the underground structure but there are reports of plans for a small convention center.
 
Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jon Zemke