DDA : All posts

Action on proposed changes to Ann Arbor DDA pushed to September

Discussion on major ordinance changes to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority have been postponed until the Ann Arbor City Council’s first meeting in September to allow time for revisions.

Mark Hodesh I GUEST COLUMNIST

opinion: A view of the Ann Arbor DDA from a downtown business owner

DDA ordinance changes, high-rise project return to Ann Arbor City Council Monday

Public hearings on two controversial issues will continue Monday night after being paused at the Ann Arbor City Council’s last meeting April 15.

Outdoor skating rink proposal for Library Lot stalls as Ann Arbor DDA asks for more details

Progress on a proposed outdoor skating rink that would use a portion of the Library Lot in downtown Ann Arbor has stalled after officials have called for more concrete details before considering funding approval.

Ann Arbor DDA's 'bike house' in Maynard Parking Structure set to open for Commuter Challenge

A new "bike house" under construction in the Maynard Parking Structure Monday in downtown Ann Arbor. This week, 37 bike racks will be installed.

Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com

8-hour Ann Arbor council meeting ends with no action on DDA changes or high-rise project

After several hours of debate, some bickering and little action, Ann Arbor City Council Member Chuck Warpehoski called it like he saw it at 3 a.m. Tuesday.

"We're not getting anything done," said Warpehoski, D-5th Ward, urging his peers on council to adjourn the meeting that started eight hours earlier at 7 p.m. Monday.

Debate continues as City Council prepares to take final vote on Ann Arbor DDA ordinance changes

Supporters of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority are circling the wagons in advance of tonight's City Council meeting where major changes to the DDA are being considered.

The Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber joined six other groups in sending a joint letter to the City Council, urging council members to vote against placing new restrictions on the DDA.

Developer: Scaled-back version of 618 South Main apartments to break ground in July

The 618 South Main apartments project in Ann Arbor is planned for the site of the former Fox Tent & Awning building, north of Mosley between Main and Ashley. The existing structures on the site are to be demolished to make way for a 156-unit apartment building. This is the site as it looked on Monday, viewed from Ashley Street.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

"I'm going to have an apartment on the top floor," said Ketelaar of Ann Arbor-based Urban Group Development, 225 S. Ashley St.

with poll: All about politics? Ann Arbor council member's motivations called into question

Ann Arbor City Council Member Stephen Kunselman, D-3rd Ward, said changes he's proposing to the Downtown Development Authority, which the City Council oversees, are intended to restore public trust and confidence in the organization.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com file photo

"It's all politics," he said this week after the City Council voted 7-3 to give initial approval to changes he's proposing to put new limits on the DDA and slow its revenue growth.

"We're politicians," added Kunselman, D-3rd Ward.

Ann Arbor mayor claims DDA ordinance changes could deal $231K blow to city's general fund

City ordinance changes designed to place new limits on the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority passed by a 7-3 vote of the City Council at first reading Monday night.

During a two-hour discussion leading up to the vote, Mayor John Hieftje accused Stephen Kunselman, the primary sponsor of the changes, of launching a politically motivated attack on the DDA that could actually hurt the bottom line of both the city and the DDA.

Ann Arbor officials put off capital projects to help balance budget over next 2 years

Ann Arbor City Council members held the last of a series of budget work sessions Monday night, and they now await the city administrator's recommended budget in April.

A number of capital projects are being removed from the two-year budget plan in an effort to close the gap between revenues and expenditures starting July 1.

Proposal to place new limits on Ann Arbor DDA postponed until April

A proposal to place new limits on the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, including the amount of taxes it captures, was postponed at Monday night's City Council meeting.

Council Members Sumi Kailasapathy, D-1st Ward, and Stephen Kunselman, D-3rd Ward, are co-sponsoring a set of ordinance changes that now will be taken up April 1.

Tax-dollar tug of war: Proposed city ordinance changes would place new limits on Ann Arbor DDA

Downtown Ann Arbor's Main Street as it looked on a summer night last year. Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority officials argue the success of the DDA is visible in the success of the downtown, which they consider the best in the state.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

With private investments being made throughout downtown and new high-rise apartments popping up left and right, the amount of taxes being captured annually by the DDA is expected to grow by about $1 million over the next two years, according to new estimates.

Julie Steiner I guest columnist

column: DDA's support in efforts to end homelessness stand out in community

The Washtenaw Housing Alliance appreciates the many ways the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority has been an important partner in our community’s efforts to end homelessness by investing in affordable housing. The WHA has long understood that successfully developing affordable housing in our community of expensive housing and tight markets, means we need every possible partner at the table—nonprofits, private developers, city and county government and, we are pleased to say, the Ann Arbor DDA.

Baker Commons, as it looked in October 2012, before a nearly $3 million grant from the DDA provided funds for a new roof and energy efficiency upgrades.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

New analysis makes case that Ann Arbor has enough density to support high-capacity transit

Roger Hewitt says he's heard the argument that Ann Arbor is too small to be talking about bigger-city transit options like light rail, streetcars and bus rapid transit.

Hewitt, a downtown business owner and treasurer for the Downtown Development Authority, says a new analysis of population and employment density says something different, though.

Demand remains strong for space inside former Borders bookstore building in downtown Ann Arbor

The last Borders bookstore sign was removed from the former flagship store on Liberty Street in downtown Ann Arbor in December.

Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com

"It's improving strongly," said Brendan Cavender, a commercial broker with Colliers International in Ann Arbor, who is working on filling the former Borders building on Liberty Street.

$3M Baker Commons project start of comprehensive plan to redevelop Ann Arbor's public housing

The Ann Arbor Housing Commission is getting started on a comprehensive plan to redevelop all of the city's public housing properties, starting with Baker Commons.

As that plan moves ahead, the commission is pondering a fundamental change in the way it operates, fully converting the city's public housing to a project-based voucher funding model.

Connecting William Street plan becomes official Ann Arbor planning document amid controversy

The Ann Arbor Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday night to make the Connecting William Street plan an official city planning document.

As a resource document supporting the city's Master Plan, the lengthy report produced by the Downtown Development Authority and its consultants, which recommends strategies for improving the William Street corridor and redeveloping five city-owned properties downtown, is now among the official documents city planners will rely on in the course of their work.

Ann Arbor hiring broker as council considers selling city-owned property downtown

As the city of Ann Arbor looks to sell the old YMCA property downtown, the City Council is giving City Administrator Steve Powers an April 1 deadline to report back on efforts to hire a broker.

A majority of council members decided Monday night the surface parking lot known as the Y Lot at the corner of Fifth and William is no longer needed for public purposes.

with poll: An outdoor skating rink in downtown Ann Arbor? While group pushes idea, mayor pushes back

The city-owned Library Lot on Fifth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor, as viewed from the downtown library, where Alan Haber and others want to see an outdoor skating rink happen yet this winter.

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

More specifically, what about an outdoor ice skating rink? What about a Spring Party in March? What about an Earth Day festival in April? What about another block party in July?

Those are all ideas longtime community activist Alan Haber is asking members of the Ann Arbor City Council and the Downtown Development Authority to consider.