Sustainability

Downtown Ann Arbor City Apartments project up for approval

By Newsroom

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November 5, 2008

More tall buildings are lining up to be built in downtown Ann Arbor. A handful have already been approved and ready to rise with the latest green light going to the controversial 601 Forest. Next in line is Ann Arbor City Apartments, which will go for City Council approval Thursday night.That project has grown a little bit since it was first proposed. The 9-story building has gone from 146 units to 156. It's even added a few more parking spots, raising that number to 244. The idea is that adding the spaces and units made the building more efficient and profitable."It's a great opportunity for us because there are no projects in Ann Arbor like the one we are proposing," says Andrea Roebker, director of public relations for Village Green Companies.The Farmington Hills-based hopes to break ground on the development next spring and finish it within 18 months."It's a tough economy but we're still moving forward," Roebker says.The project would replace a 1940s era parking garage on First and Washington streets across from the Blind Pig and Cavern Club. That parking structure was removed three years ago. Gone will be a crumbling concrete structure, proposed to replace it is a modern-looking building. The bottom four levels of the building (two are underground) are set to be a parking garage decked out with ornamental metal grills. The upper stories are set to be rental apartments which will be marketed toward professionals.That's something new for a downtown where new construction has either been reserved for student rentals or for-sale condos. The one- and two-bedroom apartments will average about 700 square feet. Ten percent of those apartments will be dedicated to affordable housing. The units will not have individual balconies or terraces, but there will be a community rooftop deck for all of the units. The apartments have access to as many as 73 spaces during the day and 146 spaces during the night. The rest of the spots will be open to the public. The parking garage will be run by the city. Village Green also plans to use extensive green building techniques and technologies in the Ann Arbor City Apartments building. Among those are using recyclable materials, installing a green roof and making the building energy efficient. The company also plans to keep the building as rental apartments for the foreseeable future. The company owns similar downtown apartment buildings in Minneapolis and Chicago. Source: Andrea Roebker, director of public relations for Village Green CompaniesWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Sustainability

Saline readies to turn on LED holiday lights in downtown

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 5, 2008

The trees in downtown Saline are about to be lit up with holiday cheer, only for much less money this year.The city removed the traditional holiday lights on downtown's foliage after they reached the end of their life cycle earlier this year. Since then, local officials have raised more several thousand dollars to replace them with energy-efficient LED lights.The project cost about $36,000. The city promised to chip in $10,000 if downtown officials could raise the rest. That didn't turn out to be a problem, and the lights are set to start glowing within the next few days."We had a couple of large contributions," says Art Trapp, the downtown development director for the city of Saline.The 50,000 lights usually cost $10.40 per day to light. The LED lights only cost $2.40 a day.LED lights are much more efficient than normal incandescent bulbs because they only produce light visible to the human eye. That requires far less energy. LED also have a significantly longer lifespan.Ann Arbor made a similar move with its downtown trees last year. It's also replacing its downtown streetlights with LED bulbs and plans to extend that to streetlights throughout the city.Source: Art Trapp, the downtown development director for the city of SalineWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt looks to add another 51 acres of farmland

By Newsroom

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Development News

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November 5, 2008

The Gould Farm could prove to be quite the green space nugget for Ann Arbor's Greenbelt Program. The City Council will decide whether to approve purchasing the development rights to the farm Thursday night.The 51-acre farm is located near the corner of Whitmore Lake and Joy roads in Ann Arbor Township. If the purchase is made, the land will remain in its current state for the foreseeable future."It's all farmland," says Ginny Trocchio, program manager for Ann Arbor's Greenbelt.Earlier this year, the Ann Arbor Greenbelt targeted the Gould and the nearby 286-acre Braun farms in Ann Arbor Township. Both are considered a high priority for preservation by the township and the city. The City Council could agree to pay half of the purchase price of $269,000. The rest of the money will come from Ann Arbor Township and Federal Farm and Ranch Land Protection Program grant. The Greenbelt program has utilized such federal grant programs in the past to the tune of $750,000. The city's Greenbelt Program provides funding to preserve and protect open space, natural habitats and farms in the Ann Arbor area by purchasing development rights. The city acquires these rights from willing sellers who apply to participate in the program. Ann Arbor voters approved a 0.5-mill millage over 30 years to establish the Greenbelt Program in 2003. Since then the program has acquired the rights to XXX acres.Source: Ginny Trocchio, program manager for Ann Arbor's GreenbeltWriter: Jon Zemke

MASTERMIND: Amanda Edmonds

By Amy Whitesall

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Economic Development

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October 22, 2008

Dr. Seuss wrote: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." Amanda Edmonds cares. An environmentalist of a different stripe she turned her idea for community farms into Growing Hope, an organization with 500 volunteers and, now, a permanent home in Ypsilanti.

Plug-in Hybrids and Smart Grid Topics of Upcoming TechKnow Forum

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 22, 2008

Themed “Recharging Michigan,” the 2008 TechKnow Forum will bring auto and energy stakeholders together to talk about the Plug-in Electric Hybrid Vehicle (PHEV) and the Smart Grid.“The goal for this forum is to explore two timely topics—the PHEVs and also the Smart Grid—that are also interdependent,” says Stephen Nose, with S-Y-N Associates, a strategy and sustainability consulting firm. “And rather than taking purely technical perspectives, we decided to take a multidisciplinary— more of a 360 degree—view.”The event is Thursday, Oct. 23 at the University of Michigan Power Center in Ann Arbor.PHEVs save money, reduce pollution and decrease dependence on imported oil. Forum guests will discuss these vehicles and the Smart Grid, which will power them.The PHEV panel includes industry representatives from Ford, Toyota and GM. Richard Curtin, with the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan, will also join the discussion. Curtin is conducting surveys to determine how much consumers will pay for this new technology.The Smart Grid discussion will include representatives from the University of Michigan, DTE Energy, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), Next Energy and the State of Michigan. You can click here for more information on the session.Source: Stephen Y Nose, S-Y-N Associates Writer: Ivy Hughes, Capital Gains

University of Michigan student leader promotes energy conservation

By Newsroom

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In The News

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October 22, 2008

Ann Arbor's townies aren’t the only ones trying to save the planet. The city's students are also making some big headway in that effort. Excerpt: Leaning forward at a table in a coffee shop near the University of Michigan Central Campus, Leslie Zaikis gazed at the screen of her laptop. Zaikis sat among a throng of other young people, some of whom seemed so engrossed in what they were doing they appeared oblivious to the sunshine outdoors, too busy in their work to notice. Zaikis admits she often feels as if she is always using her computer. She uses it a lot as president of the U-M College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Among her duties, she helps coordinate some of the college's projects, including collaboration with the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. To connect with students and university administration as well as promote energy awareness, the LSA student government helped plan the current energy-themed semester at the college. Read the rest of the story here.

Could revised 601 Forest plans leave space for another high-density development?

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 15, 2008

Could the fight over the 601 Forest project just be prelude to another fight down the road? It might turn out that way as its developers' revised plans for a smaller version of the high-rise development are approved next week.The new designs shrink the original plans by half. The 'adjusted' building would be 14 stories tall instead of 26. It would house 150-175 rooms with 570-610 beds for students at the nearby University of Michigan. That's down from 342 residential units with 1,100 beds in the original plans. 601 Forest would replace the Village Corner party store and a nearby apartment building. The adjacent Mud Bowl would be left alone. The new proposed building's footprint is almost half its original size. "That remaining parcel is about a half acre," says Matt Kowalski, a city planner for the city of Ann Arbor. "It's a significant parcel."The developers, Hughes Properties and Omena Real Estate Investments, haven't proposed doing anything with it yet. They could come back with another proposal for a high-density, high-rise development down the road if the new plans are approved at City Council's meeting Monday evening.If such a scenario played out, it could achieve the same density as originally proposed but with slightly smaller buildings. When you consider that the ugly national economy and skittish lending markets are making it harder for big-ticket projects, splitting the project into two buildings over time could be a viable way of achieving the same goal.Attempts to reach the developers for comment proved unsuccessful.The battle over 601 Forrest has been raging for months now as Ann Arbor struggles with the idea of expanding vertically at its core in an urban fashion or continuing with horizontal, suburban-sprawl-style growth. The city has already approved a handful of other mid-rise and high-rise residential projects and has several more awaiting approval.The argument in favor of vertical developments like 601 Forest is that their density and proximity to the city's center are in sync with sustainable practices and smart growth. Opponents claim such tall buildings create more density than infrastructure can handle and create adverse natural phenomenon, such as wind tunnels. Stay tuned for more on this subject.Source: Matt Kowalski, city planner for the city of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor DDA works with businesses to reduce energy costs

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 15, 2008

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is offering energy audits for free or at a greatly reduced price to downtown businesses in an effort to increase the city's sustainability.The idea is to lower energy costs for downtown businesses while improving the city's image as a community dedicated to efficient and renewable energy. The DDA is also working with the city's Green Energy Challenge to make this happen.The DDA's Downtown Energy Saving Grant Program provides a free energy audit to buildings 16,667 square feet or smaller. The program will pay up to $5,000 for audits of larger buildings. So far 47 applications have been approved, including 14 buildings larger than 17,000 square feet.Energy audits work similar to financial audits. They assess how much energy a building is using and give recommendations for how to improve efficiency and best incorporate renewable energy sources. These audits often reveal door and window leaks, areas of poor insulation, and outdated lighting or heating systems and controls.The DDA is also working on a second phase to the program, which will include matching grants for building owners who decide to implement recommendations from the energy audit.Ann Arbor's DDA has been a leader in Michigan when it comes to promoting sustainable initiatives. It has sponsored programs that promote alternative transportation, such as bring in Zipcars, build bike lockers and racks, and push for commuter rail. One of its recent initiatives included the installation of solar panels at Ann Arbor's Farmer's Market. For information on the DDA's Downtown Energy Saving Grant Program, call the city of Ann Arbor’s Energy Office at (734) 996-3150. Source: Susan Pollay, executive director for the Ann Arbor Downtown Development AuthorityWriter: Jon Zemke

FlexSys uses flexibility to triple employment in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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October 15, 2008

Flexibility is something will all strive for, but it's Ann Arbor-based FlexSys' bread and butter.University of Michigan Engineering Professor Sridhar Kota started the form in 2001 after being inspired by nature. He noticed how many man-made objects are strong and rigid, but how most things in nature are strong and flexible.His company, now seven employees and three independent contractors strong, is taking that natural approach to heart. It designs products that are strong, have few parts and are incredibly flexibility."We can design things to have a minimal number of parts that can still perform a number of sophisticated functions," Kota says.The products range from blades for windshield wipers to helicopters. It is also worked to make the wings for airplanes more flexible (an idea the feds have been unsuccessfully trying to develop for years), thus reducing drag and making them more efficient.The company went from starting with a $100,000 grant to $5 million budget. It’s now trying create flexible blades for the blades of wind turbines. Kota expects that such flexibility could make them 15 percent more efficient, a huge step forward in developing that sector of sustainable energy.Flexsys expects to build and test a full-scale wind turbine employing their technology by the end of next year. If it pans out, it will mean at least 10 more research positions in the company and many more manufacturing jobs."We would add a significant number of people," says Sridhar Kota, president and CEO of FlexSysSource: Sridhar Kota, president and CEO of FlexSysWriter: Jon Zemke

Video The Boardwalk Creative Center

By Keith Jefferies

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Sustainability

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October 15, 2008

The call for creative space in Ann Arbor has been frequent and loud -from cultural organizations feeling the absence of a community arts venue to businesses looking for neutral turf. Enter the Boardwalk Creative Center, which has become a much needed 'third place' for those seeking inspirational room to roam.