Sustainability

Ann Arbor makes plans for waterscape public art project

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February 18, 2009

Leave it to Ann Arbor to find a way to fuse two of the community's favorite pet causes - sustainability and public art.Local officials are putting the finishing touches on the main piece of public art for the City Hall expansion, which also looks to play a significant part in the building's sustainability. The work of art, a key piece of the project's LEED application, is a rain garden designed by Herbert Dreiseitl, who was commissioned by the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission.Dreiseitl is a world renowned artist and urban planner who specializes in integrating drab things like storm water into sexy subjects such as public art. His rain garden for the City Hall expansion will be the most visible piece of art in the project.The rain garden will also go a long ways toward satisfying Ann Arbor's new "Percent for Art" ordinance for new public buildings. The ordinance calls for projects to dedicate 1 percent of the project's budget for public art. Similar policies have been used for decades in other cities, such as New York and Portland.In December, AAPAC Chair, Margaret Parker, presented the Ann Arbor Public Art Commission’s (AAPAC) 2009 Annual Public Art Plan to City Council. One of AAPAC’s 2009 priorities includes the installation of interior and exterior artwork at the Ann Arbor Municipal Center.Source: Margaret Parker, chair of the Ann Arbor Public Art CommissionWriter: Jon Zemke

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Ann Arbor’s Kadushin Architects designs urban housing

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Arts & Culture

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February 11, 2009

Abraham Kadushin got his start as his own boss when his boss moved on up the ladder.The Ann Arbor resident was working for a non-profit architectural and planning firm in 1975 when his boss was tapped to be the city planner for the city of Detroit. Kadushin took the reigns of the company and created Kadushin Associates Architects Planners.The Ann Arbor-based firm now employs six people, a handful of independent contractors and the occasional intern. It also has an office in Florida.Kadushin specializes in urban developments and affordable housing. It has done lots of projects in Ann Arbor, Florida and Detroit, among other places. Its most recent accomplishments are the highly successful Woodbridge Estates in Detroit and the recently launched Gardenview Estates in Northwest Detroit.The firm plans to take on more sustainable projects, especially with regard to the readaptive use of old buildings, such as old factories turned lofts. "We hope to work with a major landowner (in Detroit) to do sustainable plans for readapting old industrial buildings," Kadushin says.Source: Abraham Kadushin, principal of Kadushin Associates Architects PlannersWriter: Jon Zemke

LED streetlights begin lighting downtown Ann Arbor

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Development News

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February 4, 2009

Downtown Ann Arbor is getting brighter and brighter every day ...now that city officials are in the home stretch of installing the energy-efficient LED lights."We're more than halfway done," says Andrew Brix, spokesman for the Ann Arbor Energy Office.That means nearly 700 of the downtown's 1,100 streetlights have been relamped with LEDs. The remaining ones are set to be in by summer. The cost of replacing the incandescent bulbs with LEDs is pegged at $640,000. City officials expect to recoup those costs through electricity savings within 3.8 years.LED (short for light-emitting diode) lights are commonly used in traffic and tail lights. They require less than half of the energy of a normal incandescent light bulb and last five times the normal two-year lifespan of an incandescent. The city is also looking to start a pilot program to install LEDs in normal cobra-head streetlights in neighborhoods. The $100,000 pilot project will occur in a student neighborhood."It will happen this year," Brix says. "Realistically, I think late summer is when it could happen."Source: Andrew Brix, spokesman for the Ann Arbor Energy OfficeWriter: Jon Zemke

Retail grows at Plymouth Green Crossings

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Community Development

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February 4, 2009

Businesses are snatching up leases in Ann Arbor's Plymouth Green Crossings and now the developer is working to make that possible for people who want to live there, too.About two-thirds of the 24,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space is occupied. Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea and Umi Sushi recently joined Olga's restaurant, Ink Stop and Fifth Third Bank in the development on Ann Arbor's northeast side.The development's location on a 10-acre parcel of land at Plymouth and Green roads between U.S. 23 and the old Pfizer site has played a key role in making that success possible. It is within a few driving minutes of downtown Ann Arbor, Domino's Farms, University of Michigan and the Toyota Technical Center."The retail portion is doing really, really well," says Julie Svinicki, real-estate agent for Plymouth Green Crossings.Sales aren't going so well for the 23 lofts above the businesses in the development's two main 3-story buildings. The development began sales just as the real-estate market started to crash and credit lines began to crunch. So even though there have been offers on some of the units, none have sold.That has prompted the developer to look at switching the development from for-sale to possible for-lease or a combination of the two. Other high-end developments in Metro Detroit have also made the switch, including The Fifth Royal Oak high-rise and The District Lofts in Birmingham.The lofts range in size from 1,400 to 1,900 square feet and will be elevator accessible. Those units come with amenities such as open floor plans, balconies and storage space. Each unit will have access to a detached garage with attic storage space above the carport.Plymouth Green has a number of environmentally friendly features. Six of the project's 10 acres are devoted to open green space. The units also include green amenities, such as bamboo floors, Freon free AC, carpet made from recycled material, Low-E windows and Energy Star appliances.For information on the project, call Svinicki at (734) 358-7700.Source: Julie Svinicki, real-estate agent for Plymouth Green CrossingsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor LED streetlights star in web TV program

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Environment & Sustainability

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February 4, 2009

Ann Arbor LED lights project is starting to get noticed.Excerpt:A very interesting video discussing the Ann Arbor, Michigan LED street lighting installation can now be viewed on the ElectricTV.net web TV program.The video describes how the city is applying the latest in LED technology to light its streets and reduce power consumption by 50%.Across the United States, local governments are slashing budgets, presenting significant challenges to those entrusted with providing services to the community. The city of Ann Arbor suffered a 60% reduction, spurring the search for areas to cut costs, including the city’s power consumption. Just to light the streets, the city was spending more than $1.4 million a year.Says Andrew Brix, acting director of the city’s energy program, “We’re talking about taxpayer dollars, and the money we spent on streetlights every year was a big chunk of change.”Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor Greenbelt acquires prime real estate, grant

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Community Development

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January 28, 2009

"Discrete human use is allowed by local fauna" – sign on Don Botsford property just outside of Ann ArborIt doesn't take long to figure out Don Botsford's politics on green space and its preservation. The lifelong Ann Arbor resident also known as Grandpa Don recently sold a 10-acre easement of woods and trails to Ann Arbor's Greenbelt. It joins a $10,000 grant to the Washtenaw Land Trust, helping further efforts to preserve green space around the college town.Botsford's land is on Miller Road tucked away on the Scio Township side of M-14. The city of Ann Arbor and Scio Township are spending a little more than $300,000 to buy the land, but Botsford says the deal is not about the money."It seems like a lot of money but it's not like the offers I have received," Botsford says.He adds that an international business man offered him $1.6 million for the land a few years ago. The last offer went as high as $2 million. Botsford sold the land to the local government for much less than that for pretty much the same reasons he bought it in the 1980s – to save it from developers."So much of it has been bulldozed out for housing developments," Botsford says. "It seems like there is hardly anything left beside the parks."Botsford has blazed about a mile of trails through the property that he takes local residents on nature walks. He adds the city will maintain the property as a natural area park and is looking at extending the trails to even more acreage of an adjacent property."This is what I want," Botsford says. "I know this place. I spent years blazing these trails and getting to know the place."The Jackson Community Foundation's Community Needs Fund has also given $10,000 to the Washtenaw Land Trust to support the Land Trust's Jackson County Nature and Farmland project. The Washtenaw Land Trust has protected 3,756 acres of land through 72 projects, including 337 acres in Jackson County. It is changing its name to the Land Trust to reflect that its reach now reaches beyond the borders of Washtenaw County.Source: Don Botsford, Ann Arbor property owner and the Washtenaw Land TrustWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M takes in big grants for sustainability, smart-bridge research

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Education

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January 21, 2009

We've all heard of smart phones and smart cars and and a whole host of other gadgets that seem to have minds of their own. Now the University of Michigan is working on smart infrastructure, specifically smart bridges.The $19 million federally funded project will create a system that monitors the strengths and weaknesses of bridges as they age. It will also study the effects of heavy trucks and corrosion on the bridges.The project will take place over five years and on bridges yet to be determined.Six U-M students have also received $50,000 fellowships from the Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute to support interdisciplinary research related to environmental sustainability.These doctoral candidates will use the money for research on sustainability projects. The U-M now has 25 students who have received these fellowships.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Clean Energy Coalition saves energy with Rebuild Ypsilanti Program

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Community Development

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January 14, 2009

The Clean Energy Coalition's Rebuild Ypsilanti Program is off to a fast start with a number of commercial building owners signing up for the program's energy audits."We have 20 people already interested in energy audits," says Greg Vendena, project manager for the Clean Energy Coalition.The program offers energy audits for office, retail, restaurant and multifamily residential buildings. Organizers hope to perform 10-20 audits by July and have five actually follow through with the recommendations. The theoiry is that by improving a building's energy efficiency you'll prolong its usability."It's worth the money saved from the operating costs because that is money that could be put toward more important things," Vendena says. "It also reduces pollution and improves occupant safety and health."For information, contact Vendena at greg@cec-mi.org or (888) 818-0987 ext 702. Source: Greg Vendena, project manager for the Clean Energy CoalitionWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M plans to save cash, planet with Climate Savers program this year

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Development News

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January 14, 2009

One of the ways the University of Michigan is dealing with tough economic times is cutting down its energy costs. The latest initiative is the Climate Savers Computing Initiative where university officials are working to cut energy consumption in its IT department. The plan is to cut 10 percent of energy use within two years to save a few million dollars, and to help the planet, too.The university is going to accomplish this by using more laptops and making sure they’re Energy-Star rated. Staff will shut off all electronics, such as printers, during off times and using sleep mode for shorter periods. Printing will only be used for final versions of reports and printed on both sides of paper. Consolidated server rooms and data centers will be implemented when possible and U-M will develop a green purchasing strategy that focuses on energy-efficient products. The University is also creating green academic initiatives including internships, research projects, and academic scholarships.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Removal of Argo Dam in Ann Arbor could mean dramatic change for Huron River

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Environment & Sustainability

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January 14, 2009

Should Argo Dam stay or go? This question is becoming a hot topic in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:Ann Arbor officials are expected to make a major decision about the Huron River by June that could result in a dramatic change to the waterway.A key factor in the river management plan under development - which citizens can learn about and have input on later this month - is whether to remove an aging city-owned dam that generates little revenue. The issue is likely to have both vocal opposition and support within the local boating community. Kayakers are interested in a whitewater course in the area, while rowers want to save Argo Pond, where many individuals and teams practice the sport. Read the rest of the story here.