Ann Arbor City Council approves 14-story Zaragon Place 2 apartment project
The Ann Arbor City Council unanimously approved a 14-story apartment project at the corner of East William and Thompson streets on Thursday night, praising the plans for conforming to existing zoning and drawing no opposition from residents.
The 96,685-square-foot mixed-use building, called Zaragon Place 2, is billed as a sister tower to Zaragon Place 1, a student housing building on East University Street.
The 173-foot-tall tower will hold 99 living units, 2,000 square feet of retail space and 40 off-street parking spaces. Construction could begin as soon as permits are pulled.
This rendering shows the proposed Zaragon Place 2 project.
Several council members noted the plans received no complaints from residents, which is a departure from other recent projects in the city.
“We’ve all experienced a lot of drama here for developments, so I want to note that there is no drama associated with this development, and that’s because it exactly fits the D1 zoning,” said Council Member Sabra Briere, D-1st Ward. “We’re eager to approve this development and other developments like it."
As part of the A2D2 Zoning Initiative, the property at 500 E. William St. is now zoned D1, which is the Downtown Core District. It also is in the new State Street Character Overlay District.
Planners have indicated rent will stay in line with the market value - around $1,000 for a one-bedroom. Floors four through 14 will each house one 4-bedroom, six 2-bedroom and two 1-bedroom apartments.
The building’s commercial space will occupy the first floor - along with the lobby, mail room and exercise room. The second and third stories will contain 40 parking spaces and 40 bike spaces.
Planners declined to discuss the project's cost or financing.
Fire Marshal Kathleen Chamberlain recommended to council that the tower have a different name than its sister building. She said in the event of a fire, alarms and sprinklers will go off, and emergency response teams will automatically be provided with the location.
But in the event of a medical or some other type of emergency where alarms aren't triggered, she said callers could confuse the two buildings. In those situations, seconds and minutes matter, she said.
Chamberlain said restaurants or stores with the same name are different from an apartment building because they don’t have people sleeping or living in them.
Council Member Stephen Rapundalo, D-2nd Ward, asked the petitioners if they were married to the name.
Scott Betzoldt, a civil engineer for the project with Midwestern Consulting, said they are. He said the first project was successful, and they've developed brand awareness with the name.
“We understand the concern, but we think people have been able to negotiate those concerns successfully over the years, and we really prefer to use our name that we used in the past,” he said. “We respectfully request to use the name that we’ve identified with the brand.”
Discussion over the name ended there.
Roger Hewitt, owner of the Red Hawk Bar and Grill located near where the tower will be built, said he fully supports the project. He said downtown needs people living there in significant numbers if its businesses are to compete with the convenience and variety of strip malls built around the edge of town.
“This project is the perfect example of what’s needed,” he said. “I wish these projects would have come along 10 years ago because we’ve lost a lot of our independent businesses in the last 10 years.”
Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.
Comments
diagbum
Thu, Aug 12, 2010 : 6:09 a.m.
"If EMS and the pizza man can tell the difference between North Quad, South Quad, East Quad, and West Quad despite all the confusing 'Quads', I suspect they can probably also tell the difference between Zaragon Place One and Zaragon Place Two." -mw Fire Marshal Chamberlain said, "in the event of a medical or some other type of emergency where alarms aren't triggered, callers could confuse the two buildings. In those situations, seconds and minutes matter." @mw: Fire Marshal Chamberlain is right! Besides how often do YOU go out and deliver subs so fast that people freak?!?
Arboriginal
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 7:18 p.m.
Adriana, isn't flooding the rental market a good way to achieve more affordable housing? Kids live in high rise student housing, families live in homes built to be single family homes. Makes sense to this Townie.
adriana
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 4:08 p.m.
thank you ann arbor council for doing nothing for affordable housing!
SillyTree
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 2:11 p.m.
I know they had to present it this way so that they had sight lines to the entire building, but this is not what the corner will look like. There are buildings on all four corners of this intersection and there will not be view that matches this rendering. I don't think you can stand at this point of view. I think there is a house there. I'm not taking sides. It's just something I noticed.
A Pretty Ann Arbor
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 12:05 p.m.
This is exactly where the density belongs - although I do think this is going to create a huge glut of rentals in neighborhoods to go unrented...maybe we can turn them back into homes for families!
brad
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 11:34 a.m.
@rasputin & joel: You won't reduce the demand for parking if you simply reduce the supply. From Nelson-Nyaard's parking report, which is the DDA's guiding light, "You can't force people to ride a bus based on economics or restricting availability of parking, because there are too many competing commercial buildings located outside downtown offering...free parking." Yes, this bullet point is about busing people into downtown for shopping, but if you replace the words commercial buildings with residential streets, the same principle applies to Zaragon. The DDA should study the number of cars from high-rise residents vs bedrooms vs parking available on-site.
annarbor28
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 10:52 a.m.
@joel: If downtown has better things to do than "warehouse cars" why are they using precious A2 monies to build an unnecessary downtown underground parking garage which will be a cesspool for pollution, exhaust fumes, and traffic as well as a monument to our dependence on oil?
Joel Batterman
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 10:42 a.m.
I believe that D1 and D2 zoning eliminates minimum parking requirements for most developments. Not mandating parking spaces there encourages sustainable transportation and efficient use of space. Our downtowns have better things to do than warehouse cars. It's unfortunate that Zaragon 2's (required) indoor bicycle parking is located on Level 3. I guess it ensures users get a workout. I wonder if there's a possibility of inserting ordinance language to encourage bike parking placement at or near ground level.
mw
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 10:25 a.m.
Roger Hewitt is absolutely right. I also agree with Fire Marshal Chamberlain about the name change. Not just for EMS, what about all the Jimmy Johns and pizza delivery people? Will DEFINITELY be confusing! If EMS and the pizza man can tell the difference between North Quad, South Quad, East Quad, and West Quad despite all the confusing 'Quads', I suspect they can probably also tell the difference between Zaragon Place One and Zaragon Place Two.
brad
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 8:24 a.m.
There are 198 bedrooms, but 40 parking spaces??? This is only 20%...something is wrong with the D1 zoning requirements for parking. About property taxes: too bad the city (i.e. fire or police) doesn't get the money; it goes to the DDA. So the upscale residents don't pay for the police when they go to the wrong Zaragon. Instead, Zaragonians can enjoy their glamorous street scapes while other residents subsidize their city services. Something's wrong with that, too.
Rasputin
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 7:10 a.m.
Finally, an appropriate spot for a 14-story apartment building project. I'm glad council supports this. My only concern is the "Z" at the top of the building because it reminds me of Z for "Zorro". Maybe they could replace the "Z" with an "A2"? BTW, I think parking is not an issue because it will simply encourage renters (students) to use other means of transportation such as public transit, bikes, or feet. And if they still need a car, they can use the new library parking facilities.
westsider
Sat, Aug 7, 2010 : 6:28 a.m.
So much for promoting affordable housing that council has pushed for in other projects like the old Y site, Heritage Row and Moravian. Not even a sniff of a request to include some here.
Ryan Munson
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 8:56 p.m.
Excellent!
Lokalisierung
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 5:43 p.m.
This is good news.
townie
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 4:37 p.m.
Meanwhile, tax foreclosure notices have been tacked to the front of the former Greek Orthodox church on Main Street, site of the proposed (and long ago APPROVED) Gallery apartment project. And City Apartments, an APPROVED public-private deal with $3 million for our ugly new city hall addition tied up in it, gets yet another purchase agreement extension. Vacant lots on Broadway and Glen Street, where businesses and housing once stood, still wait for APPROVED projects to be built. 601 Forest, also APPROVED long ago, is still gasping for breath and flailing toward a possible Fall construction start. Gee, if only our fair City was more developer-friendly, just think of how high we could soar!
xmo
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 4:21 p.m.
I am proud of the AA City Council for standing up to the opposition on this building. What brave souls! " council members noted the plans received no complaints from residents" I am glad they waited until after the primary for this tough vote!
diagbum
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 3 p.m.
Roger Hewitt is absolutely right. I also agree with Fire Marshal Chamberlain about the name change. Not just for EMS, what about all the Jimmy Johns and pizza delivery people? Will DEFINITELY be confusing!
Chris Blackstone
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 2:55 p.m.
Here's a link to a map of what I believe is the location
5c0++ H4d13y
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 2:23 p.m.
I still love the "Z". Maybe Vault of Midnight can drum up a superhero to stand watch over the citizens of A2 from above.
Forever27
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 2:19 p.m.
@UM Rocks, you and your tricky math!
UM Rocks
Fri, Aug 6, 2010 : 1:58 p.m.
"one 4-bedroom, six 2-bedroom and two 2-bedroom apartments" Isn't tht EIGHT 2-bedrooms?