Ann Arbor

Michigan Peaceworks to create mural for downtown Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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August 12, 2009

More art is on its way to downtown Ann Arbor, and it’s only going to reinforce the stereotype that Ann Arbor is made up of a bunch of art-loving peaceniks. Michigan Peaceworks, which is headquartered downtown, plans to begin work on a mural this fall. The mural will be centered on, you guessed it, peace in Ann Arbor and go up on the side of the Alley Bar. It should be finished by next spring. "It's going to be a pretty large mural," says Laura Russello, executive director of Michigan Peaceworks.The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and Main Street Association are chipping in $2,000 to pay for the project. The rest of the cost is coming from fundraising and private donations. Weekly updates will be posted on the DDA’s website once work begins. The project still have to be approved by the city before it can go forward.Source: Laura Russello, executive director of Michigan PeaceworksWriter: Jon Zemke

Loafing around on bake-cation

By Newsroom

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Healthy Communities

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August 12, 2009

Zingerman’s gets a little more love, this time from Chicago.Excerpt:ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The bright kitchen at Zingerman’s Bakehouse had the fragrant smell of a panaderia, thanks in part to the Mexican egg bread I’d made earlier that morning.By now, my thoughts had migrated from Mexico to Italy as I slathered layers of mascarpone cream on a rum-soaked ladyfinger cake. As soon as I dusted the top of my tiramisu with cocoa powder, it was time to move on to Spain and roll out the dough for some spinach-filled empanadas.I spent a good eight hours in an apron that day, whisking, kneading dough and whipping egg whites into soft peaks. I’d be back to do it again tomorrow.It might sound like work, but this was a vacation. A bake-cation, actually.For the past three summers, Ann Arbor’s beloved Zingerman’s has offered bake-cations for people wanting to learn more about the art and science behind pastry and breadmaking.Read the rest of the story here.

Bluestone, Oxford move into new space in downtown Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Development News

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August 12, 2009

Not every business moving into downtown Ann Arbor these days is a high-tech start-up. Bluestone Realty Advisors and Oxford Property Management are also staking their claim in the city's center.The two companies will share what used to be the space occupied by ICON Creative Services at 312 S. State St. The nearly 20 workers are leaving their space near Briarwood Mall for new downtown digs on Aug. 20."The general consensus is we all wanted to be there," says Neal Warling, president and CEO of Bluestone Realty Advisors. The second-floor space in the turn-of-the-century building already has a loft-like appeal with its exposed brick, beams and skylights. Warling plans to turn it into more of a nouveau industrial-type atmosphere with more metallic and streamlined details."It's going to be very cutting edge," Warling says.Source: Neal Warling, president and CEO of Bluestone Realty AdvisorsWriter: Jon Zemke

A book with bite: Local author debuts with “The Book That Eats People”

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 12, 2009

A book that eats people could only come from a town full of foodies, like Ann Arbor.Excerpt:You might want to be careful handling local author John Perry’s first children’s book. And if you’re not sure why, you probably need look no further than the glowering eyes on its bright red cover, peeking up over yellow cautionary tape that proclaims “The Book That Eats People” (Tricycle Press).“As a dad, I can’t imagine walking into a bookstore and seeing that title and not picking it up just to see what it was,” said Perry, a resident of Ann Arbor for the last 15 years, who admits that his 4- and 7-year-old daughters had pretty much exhausted his appreciation of “fairy stories, stories with morals and stories that went to the beach.”This book has none of that; the closest it comes to moralizing is when the marauding literary monster, during a stint of hard time for snacking on three neighborhood kids, also polishes off a cellmate “who deserved it.” It spends much of his time in predictable places — school, library, nightstand — with rather tragic results in each (the library’s really going to miss that night security guard) before the well-intentioned folks at the zoo decide it’s an incorrigible beast and… well, I won’t tell you what happens next. But make sure you wash any trace of peanut butter or cookies from your hands before you pick it up.Read the rest of the story here.

City Council to decide on Near North, building moratorium

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 5, 2009

Some big discussions and decisions are on tap for the Ann Arbor City Council once the dust settles from the City Council primary.At the top of the docket of this Thursday's meeting is the first of what appears to be many appearances of the Near North development. Following will be discussion and a possible decision on a downtown building moratorium.Near North will undergo its first rezoning hearing, basically an announcement to the community that the project is close to becoming a reality. Before the developer can start construction, however, at least one more month must pass. Afterward, it will undergo another public reading before the council can approve the rezoning and then the project itself.The Near North proposal calls for a mixed-use, 4-story, 40-unit apartment building on Main Street, just south of Summit Street. It will stand about as tall as the surrounding housing and come with a small greenspace and a surface parking lot just north of the building. The Summit Party Store at Main and Summit streets would remain, but could be incorporated into the project further down the line.The Three Oaks Group is working with Avalon Housing to create affordable homes in the downtown area with this project. About 65 percent of these apartments would be set aside for entry level workforce and for households earning less than $33,000. Think of the restaurant workers and recent college grads who work or want to live near downtown but are often forced to find housing outside the city or in student rentals because of cost and availability. The other 35 percent will be set aside for permanent supportive housing for people who are homeless or have disabilities.The building would replace five single-family houses lining Main Street and the Summit Party Store. However, it will go for gold level LEED certification with such big-ticket items like geothermal heating and cooling systems and green roofs. It would also incorporate a modern design. The pending building moratorium resolution basically calls for a ban on approval of new construction projects in the downtown area until A2D2 is resolved. City Council could decide this on Thursday.Source: Wendy Rampson, city planner for Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Washtenaw County moves toward establishing land bank

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 5, 2009

The Washtenaw County Land Bank is about to become a reality within the next few weeks. The county treasurer, Catherine McClary, is pushing the paperwork forward to make it official by September. Properties could be put back on tax rolls as early as October.Land banks are becoming the governmental tool du jour to handle blighted and abandoned buildings remaining from the foreclosure crisis. Genesee County has turned its land bank into a nationally recognized tool to right-size the shrinking metropolitan Flint area. It is advising Washtenaw County on setting up its own land bank.The new land bank will host two public meetings in September on what type of policies it will employ and how it will be incorporated. It will carry a seven-member board that will create the bylaws, articles of incorporation and policies in September.The board will include the Washtenaw County Treasurer and Sheriff, a representative from the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, the mayors of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, the supervisor of Ypsilanti Township, and the supervisor of one of the county's western townships.Source: Catherine McClary, Washtenaw County TreasurerWriter: Jon Zemke

EPA praises Ann Arbor for sustainable energy usage

By Newsroom

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Development News

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August 5, 2009

It almost seems like Ann Arbor's hat is about to run out of room for any more feathers these days, especially after the EPA has recognized the city for its sustainable energy efforts.Tree Town made the new Top 20 On-site Green Power Users List from the EPA. The City annually generates almost 9 million kilowatt-hours of biogas, hydro and solar power. That equates to about 20 percent of its electricity use and 12.5 percent of energy for its entire municipal operations.And that's just from last year. The city expects to bring in even more from iis sustainable operations this year. It's also looking at purchasing alternative energy (wind power anyone?) later this year to help power the city's everyday operations."I would say most cities are 1-2 percent," says Andrew Brix, energy programs manager for the city of Ann Arbor.There are local exceptions to the rule like Grand Rapids, Taylor, and Wayndotte. However, none of those cities are pushing the renewable energy envelope quite as hard as Ann Arbor.Source: Andrew Brix, energy programs manager for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Tolle on the Totter: Newspapers

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 5, 2009

An interesting conversation about what should have happened at The Ann Arbor News is held on a teeter totter.Excerpt:[Ed. note: The consultancy operated by BT, which is mentioned below, is The Tolle Group. Other entities mentioned below: The Ann Arbor Chronicle and The Workantile Exchange.] HD: Let's climb aboard. BT: [laugh] It takes me back to--who's going first? HD: Well, you know it's a collaborative endeavor. BT: I like this view. The street is so great. HD: It's not bad. [Photography ensues. HD encounters problems with the high-tech camera.] BT: Technology is not my strong suit. HD: Oh, that's not true, I know that for a fact. Well, I think I know that for a fact. So, welcome to the teeter totter! BT: Thanks, Dave. Read the rest of the story here.

Allen Creek Preschool expands in 2 phases

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 5, 2009

It appears that Allen Creek Preschool is growing almost as fast as the youngsters it watches over.The Ann Arbor-based school is in the midst of a two-phase expansion. The school bought an adjacent property that allowed it to double its acreage, bring another building into its fold, and provide ample space to add onto its first building."It will allow us to offer more programs to a wider variety of families," says Kerry Kelly Novick, co-founder and teacher of Allen Creek Preschool.The school opened in 1994 and built its current 3,000-square-foot home in 1996. Its three classrooms, office space and great hall handle 40-50 kids daily. It sits on about an acre of land at 2350 Miller Ave. "And of course we have outgrown that," Novick says.The first phase of the expansion included buying another acre of adjacent land and the small house that sits on it. The $300,000 project is turning the small house into space for its 0-3 age group and community outreach. Work is expected to wrap it up in January. The second phase, expected to begin next year or in 2011, will add another 2,000 square feet to the school's original building.Source: Kerry Kelly Novick, co-founder and teacher of Allen Creek PreschoolWriter: Jon Zemke

News site Ann Arbor.com doesn’t resemble a news site

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 5, 2009

AnnArbor.com takes a fluid approach to running the news.Excerpt:The first thing I noticed on AnnArbor.com is, well, the first thing I was supposed to notice. The bare home page doesn't even try to do the traditional newspaper editor's job of defining which stories are the most important or pressing. It's simply a time-sequenced river of news. Think of it as Times Wire, except without the choice to click back to The New York Times' spiffy home page. This is the home page.It might not be what readers expected when Tony Dearing, AnnArbor.com's chief content officer, promised a site "different from anything you've ever seen," but maybe it should have been. "Somehow, that has the connotation of this fantastic, super-futuristic, dancing-women, fireworks-going-off site," Dearing told me. "And really, I meant it in the opposite way. It's going to be very different, but in a simple, understated way that news sites traditionally have not gone."Indeed, AnnArbor.com — which launched the day after The Ann Arbor News shuttered — looks more like Digg and Twitter than it does the Detroit Free Press. At least right now, an investigative enterprise story is featured no more prominently than a 200-word blog post. Everything — design, content, even advertising — is different. Read the rest of the story here.