Sunday, May 31, 2015

ReImagine Wasntenaw Public Hearing at tomorrow's Ann Arbor City Council meeting

Gentle reader, have you ever tried to walk or bike along Washtenaw Ave? It's not a very pleasant experience. Heck, driving down Washtnaw is pretty crappy too. Washtenaw is a dynamic corridor with retail, commercial, and residential areas that connects Ann Arbor to the City of Ypsilanti passing through Pittsfield and Ypsilanti Townships along the way. The ReImagine Wasntanw plan aims to bring the 4 municipalities along the Wasntenaw Corridor together with a common planning vision to improve pedestrian, cycling, transit and automobile infrastructure along the street. So far, Ann Arbor is the only municipality that has not officially endorsed the ReImagine Wasnteaw plan. There will be a public hearing at tomorrow's City Council meeting on a resolution to support the ReImagine Wasnteaw plan. Earlier this year, the City Council postponed a vote on the same resolution because there was some opposition to the plan voiced during the public hearing. Because of this, some folks are organizing a group encouraging people who support the ReImagine Washtenaw Plan to go speak at the City Council meeting tomorrow.

Gentle reader, I strongly encourage you to study up on the plan so that you can make an informed stance on the proposal. Also, make sure you follow tomorrow's City Council Meeting.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Google, growing up, and growing out (of downtown)

The Freep has ran a story last week about the lack of commercial office space in Downtown Ann Arbor. The piece focuses on Google's announcement recently that they will be moving their Ann Arbor offices from the Google Building to a new local HQ north of the city center. New tech companies have been gobbling up much of the available downtown office space, leaving growing companies little choice other than moving out of downtown. Will we see the downtown construction trend shift away from luxury student high rises?
Average commercial office space rent is about $20 to $25 per square foot in downtown Ann Arbor right now. [McKinley CEO Albert Berriz] said it needs to reach about $40 to $45 to justify new development.
That might not be too far off.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

CivCity on Concentrate

Concentrate last month posted a nice article on The CivCity Initiative, the new project headed by friend of the blog Mary Morgan (of Ann Arbor Chronicle fame).

It’s well worth the read.

Documentary about Ann Arbor's Homeless Community

UM Stamps School student, Viviana Pernot, has just released a documentary that looks at the lives of some members of Ann Arbor's homeless community. Pernot spent three days per week with MISSION members from September through March. The film offers a humanizing look at some members of our community who may often be overlooked and is definitely worth watching.

Via: A2News