Plans filed to build house on ex-Bessenberg property on North Fifth Avenue in Ann Arbor
Architect Dick Mitchell stands outside of 215 N. Fifth Ave. The location, which used to house a book bindery, is going to be torn down and converted into a residence.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
Now that the Bessenberg Bindery is a part of Thomson Shore Inc., plans for its former building in downtown Ann Arbor call for the structure to be razed and a new home built on the site. Construction could begin this spring if the city approves the site plans.
Replacing the single-story building at 215 N. Fifth Ave. would be a new, two-level, 4,400-square-foot home, said Dick Mitchell, a partner with Ann Arbor architecture firm Mitchell and Mouat.
Birmingham resident Jonathan Rye and his wife recently purchased the property from Bessenberg after the company was acquired by Thomson-Shore and moved to Dexter.
Rye, a venture capitalist, is moving to Ann Arbor to grow Greenfield Partners, a private equity firm he runs with his son.
Mitchell said plans call for an unassuming, pavilion style home designed with two indoor courtyards. The house itself will be roughly 3,800 square feet, and the garage will add an additional 600 square feet. Mitchell said the home is very carefully detailed and described the Ryes as thoughtful in their aesthetic, making it an interesting home to design.
The lot sits between the Armory Condominiums at the corner of Ann Street and a single-family home rented to college students, and Mitchell said he envisions the new home fitting nicely between those two buildings.
“It will slide right into that slot,” he said. “It’s really not going to be a ‘Look at me' type of home."
The house must go through the site plan approval process, which is a unique situation because the lot is zoned for commercial use. The bindery was also a non-conforming use, as the home would be, and the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission must vote on it.
“The Ryes are good-natured, willing to do this and saying Well if that’s what the ordinance says, than that’s what it is,” Mitchell said.
Rye has been involved with philanthropy at the University of Michigan from where his son, Ben Rye, graduated in 2008.
Prior to Bessenberg Bindery using the site, an auto mechanic ran a shop there. Mitchell said a Greek revival home where Michigan’s first attorney general, Daniel LeRoy, lived in 1835 was the site’s original structure.
Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
mr_annarbor
Mon, Jan 24, 2011 : 1:49 a.m.
It's great that a residence will be built on that parcel, but it's too bad that the existing structure couldn't somehow be built onto or at least the facade preserved. I always liked the look of that building.
Wystan Stevens
Sun, Jan 23, 2011 : 7:54 p.m.
I wonder where that name Daniel LeRoy comes from? I had always understood that the Greek Revival house originally on this site (which was demolished in 1972 or 1973) had been the residence of Michigan's first Lieutenant Governor, Edward Mundy, an Ann Arbor Democrat who served in the administration of the "Boy Governor" of Michigan, Stevens T. Mason, when the state capital was still located in Detroit. Mundy died in Grand Rapids in 1851, but his remains were moved from GR to Ann Arbor's old burying ground (now the front lawn of the Power Center for the Performing Arts) in 1852. They were moved again, to Forest Hill Cemetery, sometime after Forest Hill's first interment took place in 1858.
Bob Martel
Sun, Jan 23, 2011 : 6:15 p.m.
It's refreshing to see a downtown parcel being developed into a single family residence and not some glorified apartment building. I wish the owners the best of luck and welcome to town!
John Alan
Sun, Jan 23, 2011 : 3:43 p.m.
Going thru Ann Arbor's HDC..... site plan approval.... trust me it is breath taking to a point that it is NOT worth it. BUT I wish you lots of good luck and I hope you can make it through all these road blocks..... This is a good location and IF you can get them to sign off, it will be fantastic...... Just a suggestion.... get a good lawyer since you will be runing alot between HDC and ZBA (zoning board of appeal), and planning....... a good 2 years before you can do anything... and you may end up having a law suit in court to get things moving......Welcome to Ann Arbor. P.S., if you make it through all these, it is well worth it since Ann Arbor is the greatest city to live in in the whole midwest.
BHarding
Sun, Jan 23, 2011 : 2:55 p.m.
That's good news! Downtown Ann Arbor is a great place to live. Welcome!