Zaragon Lofts rises from the ground this spring

One of Ann Arbor‘s newest high-density developments is rising from the dust of one its older landmarks now that construction workers have begun the above-ground phase of Zaragon Place Lofts.

 

Construction on the new 10-story structure’s basement is done and the developer, Chicago-based Zaragon, expects to finish the lofts by May of 2009.

 

“We should be finishing the ground floor and coming up with it in the coming weeks,” says Lisa Miner, vice president of Zaragon.

 

The high-rise on East University Avenue, behind Pizza House and less than a block north of East Quad, will feature 66 apartments and 44 underground parking spots. Although most of the structure’s 100,000 square feet is dedicated toward residential space, there will be ground floor retail.

 

The idea is to cater to University of Michigan students and staff that want to live closer to campus and in a dense, urban setting. The development is the first of several that have popped up in either downtown or adjacent to the central campus area and are offering upscale living options. Other such projects include University Village, 4 Eleven Lofts and the university’s newest dorm North Quad.

 

Zaragon Place Lofts replaces the historic Anberay Apartment Building, a structure that had become affectionately known as “Melrose Place” by students in recent years. The 84-year old art-deco structure had 23 apartments before Zaragon razed it last fall.

 

Anberay was one of the few pre-World War II apartment buildings left in the city and one of the few built with a central courtyard in a C shape. Locally renowned university architecture professors Albert J. J. Rousseau and George W. McConkey designed the structure in what is often called Chicago style. Each of the building’s apartments had a balcony overlooking the courtyard.

 

Source: Lisa Miner, vice president of Zaragon
Writer: Jon Zemke