The DDA Three Site Plan League of Women Voters Panel Presentation Tuesday, March 8, 2005

1. The DDA Three Site Plan League of Women Voters Panel PresentationTuesday, March 8, 2005 Presented by Rene Greff, DDA Member

2. Who am I? • Rene Greff • Co-Owner Arbor Brewing Company – Waste Knot Charter Member and Winner of the Washtenaw County 2000 Environmental Excellence Award • Member/contributor of Sierra Club, Washtenaw Land Trust, Nature Conservancy • Committed to environmental protection and the preservation of greenfields and environmentally sensitive areas • Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority Board Member • rene@arborbrewing.com 213-1393

3. Historical Context • 1996 Engineering study of the parking facilities • Plan A – 1997 Repair Plan Approval – 1st & Washington slab replacement bids too high • Plan B – 1998/99 Replace with standalone deck • Plan C – 2000 RFP for public/private project - 2 years later collapsed under the sheer weight of worthwhile community goals • Plan D – 2003 Held public meeting and came up with the multi-site plan in accordance with the 1988 Downtown Plan – got Council approval to proceed July 2003

4. DDA Three Site Downtown Plan • Achieve highest and best use for three city owned sites • De-emphasize parking by consolidating 450 spaces of parking that are currently spread across 3 city-owned sites • Free other two locations up for better and higher use • Establish the first link in the Allen Creek greenway with parkland and a bike and pedestrian path

5. First & William • Surface parking lot (110 spaces) • Contaminated site • Steep grade • Railroad runs along property • In the floodway

6. First & Washington • Crumbling parking deck from the late 1940’s • Soon to be demolished • 199 spaces • Downtown edge transition perfect for residential use

7. Kline’s (S. Ashley) Lot • Surface lot along Ashley between William and Liberty – 140 spaces • Prime real estate – great mixed-use location • Excellent soils for underground parking

8. DDA Three Site Plan • First & William – consolidate existing public parking from Kline lot, 1st & Washington and 1st & William including park space and a section of the greenway as part of the design • First & Washington – provide a substantial number of down residential units including affordable housing at 60% of the median income • Kline lot – redevelop with ground floor retail, small amount of office, market-rate housing, and underground parking to support the project

9. Three Site Plan

10. DDA Three Site Plan Initial massing concepts – for analysis (projects would be designed once plan is approved)

11. Smart Growth Plan for Downtown Realizes a broad range of community goals • Establishes a park at 1st and William paid for and operated with parking bond rather than parks funds • Establishes the first critical link in the downtown greenway envisioned in the city’s 1988 Downtown Plan • Encourages development away from greenfields and into already developed areas • Strengthens struggling retail corridor along Ashley

12. Smart Growth Plan for Downtown Realizes a broad range of community goals • Increases the number of residents living in the downtown • Provides affordable housing options for those earning 60%-80% of median income • Replaces a section of the 75 year old Allen Creek drain, reduces impervious surface area, and improves site-level stormwater management • Provides nearly $1M for cleanup of a contaminated site

13. Smart Growth Plan for Downtown Realizes a broad range of community goals • Reduce the number of surface parking lots • Ensures sufficient downtown parking to support business and residential use • Maximizes city sales and tax revenue potential on city-owned property at a time when the city is struggling to meet its budget needs without cutting vital safety and human services • Helps realize the City of Ann Arbor’s 1988 Downtown Plan

14. 1988 Downtown Plan View

15. Smart Growth in Theory • In communities across the nation, there is a growing awareness that current development patterns -- dominated by sprawl are no longer in the long-term interest of our cities, existing suburbs, small towns, rural communities, or wilderness areas. • Though supportive of growth, communities are questioning the economic costs of abandoning infrastructure in the city, only to rebuild it further out. • Spurring the smart growth movement are demographic shifts, a strong environmental ethic, increased fiscal concerns, and more nuanced views of growth. • The result is both a overdue need and a new opportunity for smart growth.

16. Smart Growth In Practice • Smart Growth America Recommendations • Reinvest in neglected communities and provide more housing opportunities • Rehab abandoned and contaminated properties • Encourage development in already built-up areas • Create mixed-use centers of activity • Craft transportation policies that complement smarter growth

17. Smart Growth In Practice • EPA Recommendations • Compact Development • Infill Development • Increase density in built environments • Brownfield Development • Reduce impervious surface areas and improve water detention • Mixed Land Use • Transit Accessibility • Safeguard environmentally sensitive areas

18. Smart Growth In Practice • Sierra Club Recommendations • Smart growth “is intelligent, well-planned development that channels growth into existing areas, provides public transportation options, and preserves farm land and open space.” • Infill development and re-development of older districts and contaminated brownfield sites to help counter sprawl and revitalize inner cities by providing housing near existing jobs and shopping areas

19. DDA Three Site Plan Site I - First & William – Project Goals • Consolidate existing public parking from the Kline lot and 1st & Washington, making them available for redevelopment • Remediate soil contamination at this site • Install a new section of the 75 year old Allen Creek Drain • Work with the HRWC, Drain Commissioner, City and County to ensure that the project meets a “No Adverse Impact’ flood management goal in part by decreasing the impervious surface area and providing site-level water management • Make provisions for the first section of the bike/pedestrian greenway called out in the Downtown Plan • Create a park alongside the structure on the site

20. Designing Urban Parks • Urban parks need to be carefully planned, monitored, and programmed to avoid safety and crime issues • A park designed in conjunction with this development would be maintained and monitored by our parking contractor who has done a beautiful job with landscaping and maintenance at the Brown block and 5th and Huron • Parks aren’t just sprawling carpets of turf grass– downtown Ann Arbor has access to many urban, pocket, and larger grassland parks including North Main Park, Hanover Park, Sculpture Plaza, Liberty Plaza, West Park, Wheeler, Wurster, Allmendinger, Community H.S., Diag, Dean Promenade, the new YMCA park and we may soon see the addition of parks at 1st and William and 415 W. Washington.

21. We could have a new downtown park and establishment of the first link in the greenway within a year or two.

22. The Real Debate • Not Greenway vs. Development • Our plan accommodates the bike/pedestrian greenway envisioned in the city’s own 1988 downtown plan developed through extensive public process • We have the funding and are ready to move forward with a plan that will establish the first link in the greenway

23. The Real Debate • Not Park vs. Parking • Status Quo – keep surface lot at 1st and William and re-build structure on 1st and Washington at the expense of parkland, affordable housing, and moving a city-owned property to the tax roles • All or nothing – converts the entire site into parkland at the expense of 110 parking spaces, affordable housing, and moving a city-owned property to the tax roles • DDAs Mixed-use Park and Parking Plan which moves two properties onto the tax roles, accommodates the greenway, a park, affordable housing, and parking

24. We want to hear from you! • Our goal is to design the best possible solutions for the entire community • 100 N. Fifth AvenueP.O. Box 8647 Ann Arbor, MI 48107(734) 994-6697 dda@ci.ann-arbor.mi.us