The latest plans for City Place look like they belong in some sprawling Livingston County exurb with its unambitious architecture and surface parking lots. But it looks like it might be built in downtown Ann Arbor this September now that the City Council is considering the project. It postponed making a decision on it Monday night until June 15.
This latest version of the project, in its sixth incarnation, is what happens when developers, city officials and local residents can't learn to play nice. It calls for two, 4-story buildings that will hold 24 apartments for students. The two buildings will be split by 36 surface parking spaces. They will replace seven historic houses, including one of the city's oldest houses, that had fallen into disrepair on Fifth Avenue near Packard.
The development meets what is called for by zoning in what the developer, Alex de Parry of Ann Arbor Builders, says is "strictly by the book." It's the design he claims he was left with no choice but to pursue after repeated breakdowns in the development process.
"When you can't work things out and the rules dictate certain things you have to follow the rules," de Parry says.
This is far from what he originally proposed a few years ago. That plan called for 90 brownstone-style condos in a long 4.5-story building in what he describes as Beacon Hill-style architecture. The original project proposal included some big green, urban features such as 98 underground parking spaces and a geothermal heating-and-cooling system. The 750-1,500-square-foot units were geared toward young professionals looking to live in a vibrant downtown.
Those plans met with fierce resistance from local residents. The developer, residents and city officials spent months working together to come up with a solution that made everyone at least a little happy. These plans included one innovative design that called for saving the front half of the houses and building dense units behind them.
"We were trying to think outside of the box," de Parry says. "Be a little creative."
That's apparently when the wheels fell off the compromise wagon. Tom Whitaker, president of the Germantown Neighborhood Association that is opposing the project, terminated the discussions without giving a reason, according to de Parry.
"That's when I realized this guy isn't sincere," de Parry says.
Whitaker didn't respond to repeated attempts for comment over several days. Previously he declined to discuss City Place with Concentrate, saying he had "grave concerns about fairness and balance in any article published by Concentrate, since (Newcombe) Clark is a partner in one of the proposed developments in our neighborhood."
Clark is a partner in The Moravian and also serves as Concentrate's publisher. His role in the publication is limited to selling the advertising and underwriting that supports this website. He has no say in Concentrate's editorial content or focus.
Source: Alex de Parry, president of Ann Arbor Builders and the city of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke
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