One full construction season. That's all PMA Consultants needs to build the Tierra on Ashley mid-rise in downtown Ann Arbor.
"We want to start work in the spring," says John Zann, project manager for PMA Consultants.
The $9.6 million project will be a showcase of green building and urban design for the Ann Arbor-based consulting firm. The 8-story tower will go on the corner of West Washington and Ashley streets and will feature 30,000 square feet of office, residential and retail space. It will also include a number of environmentally friendly features to show that green building can be done as cost-effectively as conventional building.
The building will use 65 percent less energy than a conventional building in Michigan. Most of that savings, about 35 percent, will come from passive-design techniques, such as allowing the building to be warmed by the sun during the cold months and cooled by passing breezes in hot months.
It will also employ green features, such as green roofs and wind turbines that will look like smoke stacks on top of the building. PMA expects to get 10 percent of its energy from such renewable sources. It also plans to capture and use all of its storm water runoff while reducing its demand for potable water by 50 percent compared to normal, similar structures.
Tierra on Ashley will feature retail space on the first two floors for a small grocery store and café, similar to Whole Foods. Office space will be reserved for the third, fourth and fifth floors for PMA. Six luxury condos will be built on the sixth, seventh and eighth floors. A roof pavilion will be built for both residents and office tenants. An underground parking garage will provide seven spaces, while bike racks will be built in the garage and on the street sidewalks.
Source: John Zann, project manager for PMA Consultants
Writer: Jon Zemke
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