Signed, sealed, delivered

Bill Godfrey of the Three Oaks Group has delivered their signed and notarized agreement to control commercial use in the Near North development.

As agreed in negotiations with NCPOA prior to City Council's action on the project, Three Oaks will implement deed restrictions to assure that there will be no increase in commercial use on the southeast corner of Main and Summit. NeNo's proposed commercial space will be built only if the existing party store is permanently removed.

This is the final step in implementing our agreement with the developers. Now that it's complete, we'll be taking down our lawn signs. The signs are fully recyclable--the paper in the paper bin, the frame in the containers bin. I'll be picking up signs this weekend from people who don't have email, and can get yours too if you'd like--just let me know.

The fight over giant PUDs isn't over. Other developers also want to put Downtown buildings in Ann Arbor's Near Downtown Neighborhoods, and too many members of Planning Commission and City Council seem eager to help them. NCPOA will continue to defend the planning and zoning that protect "Downtown's Greenbelt."

Agreement Reached on Near North

NCPOA's area committee met on Labor Day with the neighbors who will be most affected by the Near North project. After reviewing changes made by the developers in the past few days, we agreed that the project is now acceptable. We no longer oppose its approval by City Council.

Tom Fitzsimmons will present our position at Council's public hearing on Near North today. We plan to schedule our own meeting next week to discuss the implications of the project and the continuing threats to North Central and other near-downtown neighborhoods.

Cutting Downtown’s Greenbelt

“The [Near North] project is on a main road where the placement of such a building is not only permissible but expected”

--Diane, commenting on arborupdate.com

No, Near North is not remotely “permissible.” The existing zoning would allow the developers to more than triple the floor area on their proposed site. They’re asking for a rezoning that will permit nearly ten times the current density.

And No, an industrial-style, five-story building ten feet from the sidewalk is not “expected” just because Main Street is “a main road.” Like every other street leading into downtown, Main Street is zoned differently in different places.

The photo above shows the 500 block of W. Liberty. Like the proposed Near North site in the 600 block of N. Main, it is two blocks from the DDA boundary. Whether you go into town on N. Main or W. Liberty, Washtenaw, Packard, South Main, or Jackson/Huron, every "main route" begins in fringe commercial near the city limits and ends in downtown commercial in the urban core. And in between, every street passes through a green, tree-lined neighborhood.

This is no accident. Since the 1970s, the city has protected the residential character of the near-downtown neighborhoods. It’s permitted redevelopment--the North Central neighborhood has added more than sixty bedrooms in the past twenty-five years--but always within setback and height limits that preserve a residential landscape by leaving room for mature trees. Thanks to the city’s foresight, North Central joins with other near-downtown neighborhoods to form a “greenbelt” surrounding the urban core.

No one “expects” a building like Near North on Packard in Burns Park, on Liberty in the Old West Side, or on Washtenaw in the Oxbridge neighborhood. Nothing in the city’s planning or zoning “expects” it on this block of North Main, either--which is why the city planning staff has consistently opposed the project.

When the Three Oaks Group first proposed a supersized condo on this site five years ago, they falsely claimed that our neighborhood was in Main Street’s industrial zone along the river. This time, they’ve falsely claimed it’s downtown. Unfortunately, some naive new urbanists believed them.

The truth is that Near North will cut a gash in downtown’s greenbelt. It will reverse decades of good planning, and badly hurt both our neighborhood and the city.

For Rent: Kerrytown apartment, $575

When I've talked to people at Zingerman's about NeNo, they say the city needs its "workforce housing." As an example, several have told me their own employees would like to live closer to the Deli. Yet no one there was interested when I told them that Mrs. Seeley had a newly refurbished 2-bedroom apartment for rent. Her house is one short block from Kerrytown, and two from the Deli.

At $650 a month, two people could have shared that apartment for $325 each--but I was told that their staffers prefer to live alone. Now that option is available, too: Mrs. Seeley rented the 2-bedroom, but she now has a vacant 1-bedroom. The rent is $575 a month, and anyone who's interested can call her at 662-9716.

If you do the math, you'll find that this apartment costs $199 LESS than than the $774 ceiling for NeNo's 1-bedroom "workforce" units. But of course, few entry-level workers would rent a 1-bedroom in the first place. Mrs. Seeley's rents are a bargain, but even she charges an appropriate premium for having your own kitchen and bath.

That's why 1-bedrooms are by far the most expensive type of rental housing. I just did a quick search on arborweb.rentlinx.com, looking at 1- and 2-bedroom apartments currently offered for rent within one mile of the NeNo site. The first ten 1-bedrooms that came up rent for an average of $836. The first ten 2-bedrooms average $1,060, or $530 per person. That's $244 PER MONTH less than NeNo's $774 ceiling.

No wonder people trying to save money typically share apartments and homes. It turns out that some are even doing that again in 3 Oaks' houses on N. Main. Margaret Schankler recently spoke to a tenant who's moved into the gray house. It's a 3-bedroom and the rent is $1,000 a month. With three people sharing it, each is paying $333 a month. That's just a hair less than the $337 a month average we found in our own survey of Main Street rentals in May.

NeNo would provide less workforce housing than already exists on this site, at well over twice the cost. Tell us again--what's the "public benefit" here?

Housing the Homeless

"40 units at Near North will be set aside as supportive housing for persons with special needs"

--developers' website

We've constantly been surprised that so many well-informed people think the NeNo site plan includes forty units of "supportive" housing. In fact, only one-third of the building--fourteen units--would serve people with special needs. The developers have always acknowledged this during the Planning process, and it's documented in the June Planning Staff report.

Thanks to Cindy Pomerleau, we've finally tracked this error to its source--which turns out to be the developers's own website!

As noted previously, the great majority of the units in NeNo will have little or no value to the community. They're supposed to be targeted at working people--but because 3 Oaks wants so much money for the site, they would be more expensive than thousands of existing Ann Arbor apartments.

We hope this web posting is an oversight, not a deliberate attempt to mislead. Many Avalon supporters, including Paul Saginaw of Zingerman's, have argued that the county's Blueprint to End Homelessness justifies blowing away fifty years of planning for our neighborhood. It's past time for Avalon to come clean about just how few homeless people NeNo would house.

Test Your NeNo Knowledge

1) If Avalon Housing has 600 people are on its waiting list, and Near North is built, how many people will be left on its waiting list?

a) 300
b) 560
c) 586

2) The eight homes that will be demolished to build Near North have a total of 26 bedrooms. Before 3 Oaks vacated these houses, what was the rent per bedroom?

a) $337 per month
b) $555 per month
c) $774 per month

3) Near North will have 24 “workforce” apartments targeted at people earning no more than 50% of the area’s median income. How much can the developers charge for these units?

a) $337 per month
b) $555 per month
c) $774 per month

4) How many such "workforce" units does the county Affordable Housing Needs Assessment recommend building in the Downtown and Campus areas?

a) 5
b) 50
c) 500

5) Which of these will NOT be part of Near North?

a) housing for people with substance-abuse issues
b) underground parking for every unit
c) a liquor store


Answers:

1) c: 586. The people on Avalon’s waiting list need “supportive” housing. However, Near North will have just 14 “supportive” units.

2) The developers have never revealed how much they charged when they rented the existing houses. However, comparable houses and apartments on this block rent for an average of $337 per bedroom

3) c: $774 per month, including utilities.

4) a: 5 units. The county's Blueprint to End Homeless seeks to add 500 units of "supportive" housing. However, "workforce" units are a much lower priority. The Needs Assessment calls for building 100 citywide, with just 5 in the Downtown and Campus areas.

5) None of the above. Near North will have housing for people with substance-abuse issues, underground parking for every unit, AND a liquor store in the building!


Comments:

1: Many people who support Near North mistakenly assume that it's a classic Avalon project, made up entirely of supportive housing for formerly homeless people. In fact, the building is THREE TIMES the size needed to accommodate its 14 “supportive” residents.

2: The other 26 units are described as “workforce” housing. That is exactly what the existing homes provided--before the developers moved their tenants out.

3: Because 3 Oaks wants to be paid more than $2 million for the property, the "workforce" units will rent for more than many existing Ann Arbor apartments.

4: The study notes that "the private sector and the market will absorb many of the units needed for lower-income households." With 2,000 new student bedrooms recently opened or under constuction, rents are falling citywide.

5: Sad, but true. Contrary to city policy to limit retail sprawl along major arteries, the Near North site plan includes commercial space. The developers have said repeatedly that they want to move the Summit Party Store into the Near North building.

North Main Street Today - and Tomorrow?

To minimize NeNo's impact, the developers' renderings make the existing houses appear as barren as their own site plan. Here is the rendering from their latest submission to Planning:

Here's how the neighboring houses really look, from the sidewalk across the street:

At Planning Commission, Jean Carlberg repeatedly criticized the neighbors for saying the site plan would destroy the scale and character of our residential neighborhood. But that is exactly what it would do.

This block is now a neighborhood of one- and two-family homes. The city's Central Area Plan calls for it to continue in that use. NeNo, in the developers's own words, would be a "gateway to downtown."

If Downtown doesn't end at Kingsley Street, where does it end?