Stories indexed with the term ‘Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority’

The roof of Baker Commons, which offers 64 of the roughly 360 public housing units managed by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, will be replaced using funds provided by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The authorization of $260,000 was given at the DDA’s Oct. 3, 2012 board meeting.

Jennifer L. Hall, the commission’s executive director, had addressed the board at its Sept. 5, 2012 meeting and also spoke to board members on Oct. 3.

Baker Commons, on the corner of Packard and Main streets, is the only AAHC  property within the Ann Arbor DDA district. The roof has had ongoing leaking problems, according to Hall’s presentation at the Sept. 5 meeting, and the housing commission has undertaken periodic patches. However, in the last … [Full Story]

Authorization for a $1.5 million contract for further study of a transportation connector between the northeast and south sides of Ann Arbor has been given contingent approval by the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority board.

The authorization, which the AATA board gave at its Sept. 27, 2012 meeting, is conditional on additional local funding – in the amount of $60,000. The $60,000 would be part of a total $300,000 local match for a $1.2 million federal grant.

The corridor runs from US-23 and Plymouth southward along Plymouth to State Street and farther south to I-94. This alternatives analysis phase of the study is to result in identifying a preferred choice of technology (e.g., bus rapid transit, light rail, etc.) and the location of stations and stops.

The … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (Sept. 5, 2012): The only agenda item requiring a vote by the board was a resolution encouraging the Ann Arbor city council to adopt a policy that would direct proceeds from the sale of city-owned land to support affordable housing. The mechanism for that support would be the city’s affordable housing trust fund.

And board members voted unanimously to support the resolution, which DDA board member Sandi Smith had brought forward. Smith, who also represents Ward 1 on the Ann Arbor city council, is planning to bring the policy resolution to the council for consideration at its Sept. 17 meeting.

DDA board members were positively inclined toward their own resolution, but sought to clarify that the “proceeds” meant net proceeds – that is, whatever is left after any debt associated with city-owned land is paid off. The loan for the city’s acquisition of the former YMCA lot, for example, still has a principal of $3.5 million associated with it. Smith indicated at the meeting that the resolution she brings to the council might involve the DDA forgoing the repayment on investments it has made in city-owned property – like interest payments on the former YMCA lot or the demolition costs associated with that property.

The board also made an amendment to the resolution during the meeting, adding the phrase “a percentage of [proceeds].” The change gives the council flexibility to adopt a policy that doesn’t require the entire amount of the net proceeds to be directed to the affordable housing trust fund.

At the Sept. 5 meeting, the board also heard a request from the executive director of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission, Jennifer L. Hall, for a $260,000 allocation from the DDA’s own housing fund. The DDA has a housing fund that’s not necessarily dedicated to affordable housing. But the request Hall was making was for Baker Commons, a public housing project located within the DDA’s geographic district, at Packard and Main. The money would primarily go toward replacing the roof with one made of metal.

The board also got its regular update on the parking system. The basic message: revenue is up, and usage is up. The board also had a look at the unaudited financial figures for the end of fiscal year 2012, which concluded on June 30. Except for capital expenses, which were less than budgeted, most categories were on target. The DDA had budgeted all expenses for the new Library Lane parking structure for that fiscal year, but not all invoices have come in yet.

The board was also updated on a possible change to the way that transportation planning and funding takes place in Washtenaw County. Discussions by the policy board of the Washtenaw Area Transportation Study (WATS) suggest the  possibility that Washtenaw County could form its own metropolitan planning organization (MPO). Currently, the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), which includes a total of seven counties, serves as the MPO  for Washtenaw County. The change would affect how federal transportation funding is administered locally. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor park advisory commissioners had a wide-ranging conversation on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012 – mostly focused on responding to a Connecting William Street presentation that was made at PAC’s Aug. 21 meeting.

Their consensus: That the potential development scenarios presented by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority – focused on five city-owned properties along William Street – did not include sufficient parkland or green space.

Commissioners plan to craft a resolution for their Oct. 16 meeting, recommending that the DDA incorporate more green space into its final proposal to the city council. The council had directed the DDA to develop a coordinated planning approach for the five sites, to guide future development. The parcels include the lower level of the Fourth & William parking structure, plus four surface parking lots: (1) the Kline’s lot on Ashley; (2) the lot next to Palio restaurant at Main & William; (3) the old YMCA lot between Fourth and Fifth; and (5) the top of the Library Lane underground parking garage on South Fifth, north of the downtown library.

PAC’s resolution will also likely suggest specific attributes they’d like to see in a downtown park, such as grassy areas, interactive sculptures, or a performance space. Other attributes might include a visible location with mixed-use development around it, and programming or activities to attract people to the site.

Despite consensus that more green space is needed, commissioners were less unified about where that green space should be located, and expressed some frustration that they didn’t have more time for this task. One possibility discussed was a downtown greenway, making connections between different parcels where pedestrians could walk from Main Street to the library on South Fifth, and possibly continuing to State Street.

Other ideas included setting aside one of the five sites – either Main and William, or Fifth and William were suggested – as a park. Commissioners also discussed a possible park or plaza on the Library Lane site. There was some sentiment that having an outdoor space next to the library would be positive, though they acknowledged the concerns raised by library officials about putting a park there.

Liberty Plaza, one of the city’s current downtown parks, was part of the mix, although it’s not included in the Connecting William Street project. Commissioners have been asked by mayor John Hieftje to look at that park and some staff suggestions for improving it. More broadly, Hieftje has asked PAC to help prioritize the needs for downtown parks and the possibility of adding more parks into the system.

Colin Smith, Ann Arbor’s parks and recreation manager, encouraged commissioners to review the city’s parks and recreation open space (PROS) plan, which includes recommendations for downtown parks. Some of these issues have been discussed for years, he noted, and it’s important not to “reinvent the wheel.”

The follow-up discussion to requests from Hieftje and the DDA was held at PAC’s land acquisition committee meeting on Sept. 4 in the city council workroom. It was attended by seven of the nine park commissioners: Julie Grand, Ingrid Ault, Tim Berla, Tim Doyle, Alan Jackson, John Lawter and Karen Levin. Not at the meeting were the two city councilmembers – Mike Anglin and Christopher Taylor – who are ex-officio members of PAC.

Also absent was Bob Galardi, the commission’s most recently appointed member. His absence was noted by some commissioners, who had hoped to hear his perspective as a member of the DDA’s leadership and outreach committee for the Connecting William Street project. [Full Story]

An effort by city councilmember Sandi Smith to restore a former policy on proceeds of city-owned land sales got a boost from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board at its Sept. 5, 2012 meeting.

The policy would direct proceeds from the sale of city-owned land to support affordable housing. The DDA board voted to support a resolution that reads in relevant part: “[T]he Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority encourages the Ann Arbor city council to direct a percentage of proceeds from the sale of the city owned surface parking lots in the downtown to the city’s housing trust fund, to be used to support sustainable, affordable housing.” The phrase “a percentage” was added as an amendment by the DDA board … [Full Story]

In the coming weeks, the Ann Arbor city council will be taking up discussion of a policy that was changed a half-decade ago – as part of a land sale by the city.

A June 4, 2007 city council action authorized the sale of city-owned property on East Eisenhower for $23,750. But the council’s action that summer also included a “resolved” clause that rescinded the city’s policy dealing with the proceeds from the sale of city-owned land. As a result of that “resolved” clause, proceeds from the sale of city-owned land were no longer required to be deposited into the city’s affordable housing trust fund.

The city council will soon be reviewing that policy, with this possible outcome: It could again become official city policy that the proceeds from sales of city-owned land will be designated at least in part to support affordable housing.

Leah Gunn, chair of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board, conveyed news of the upcoming policy discussion to her colleagues at an Aug. 29 meeting of the DDA’s operations committee. But it’s Sandi Smith – a city councilmember representing Ward 1 and a DDA board member – who is leading the effort to reconsider the land-sale-proceeds policy. She emailed her colleagues on the city council earlier in the week alerting them of her intention to revisit the issue – with an action item to come at the council’s Sept. 17 meeting.

Gunn will be seeking support from the rest of the DDA board, encouraging the city council to revert to the previous policy in some form – so that proceeds from the sale of city-owned land are designated to support affordable housing. That resolution of support will be on the DDA board’s Sept. 5 meeting agenda. Gunn also indicated that she’d ask her colleagues on the Washtenaw County board of commissioners to pass a resolution of support for the city council to change the policy. The county board’s next meeting is also on Sept. 5.

Any change in the current policy will come in the context of the DDA’s current planning effort, called Connecting William Street, for five city-owned parcels in downtown Ann Arbor, some of which could eventually be sold.

The upcoming council discussion, focusing just on this policy, will take place five years later than Ward 3 city councilmember Stephen Kunselman had wanted. On June 4, 2007 Kunselman had objected to including the policy shift as one of many “resolved” clauses in a land transaction resolution, saying that it wasn’t consistent with transparent governance.

The motivation for the change in policy back in 2007 involved a desire to put the $3 million in proceeds from selling the First and Washington parcel toward the building fund of a new police/courts building (now officially dubbed the Justice Center). The property was sold to Village Green, which is currently constructing City Apartments, with 156 residential units and a 244-space parking structure on the bottom two floors. The parcel was previously the site of a 199-space parking structure. Of the 156 units in the City Apartments project, 16 are supposed to be affordable to those earning between 60-80% of the area median income (AMI) – a requirement of the project’s planned unit development (PUD) zoning.

Provision of “affordable” housing within a project like City Apartments is one of at least two different strategies used by the city to address the need for a diversity of affordable housing options. Another strategy is for a developer to make a payment in lieu of providing the units themselves – a payment that is deposited into the affordable housing trust fund.  The idea behind that strategy is that affordable units might be constructed more economically elsewhere, using money from the trust fund.

While downtown Ann Arbor is in some ways an ideal location for affordable housing – because it’s easier to provide supportive human services to those residents who need them – the cost of real estate in the downtown area is higher than elsewhere in Washtenaw County. That’s a secondary piece of the policy discussion that the city council will likely have about the land-sale-proceeds policy.

In a phone interview with Mary Jo Callan, head of the city/county office of community and economic development, she described how one of her first tasks since taking the position in 2007 was to find strategies for replacing the 100 units of single resident occupancy supportive housing in the former YMCA. Those units had been lost when the building – owned by the city at that time – was condemned and subsequently demolished. Since the city’s affordable housing trust fund’s inception, Callan said the fund has invested in 399 units of affordable housing.

A look back to the city council meeting on June 4, 2007 shows that local government today still deals with many of the same topics – dog parks, affordable housing, transparency. Although the origin of the land-sale-proceeds policy and its connection to affordable housing goes back even further, to 1996, we’ll begin this report with the June 2007 action.  [Full Story]

In a letter sent to Ann Arbor councilmembers and other government officials, Avalon Housing‘s senior developer Michael Appel has announced that the Near North affordable housing project will not move forward. The development team has determined that the project, which was to include 39 new affordable housing units, 16 of them as supportive housing, is not feasible as planned. [.pdf of letter from Michael Appel]

A change to the FEMA flood maps is highlighted in Appel’s letter as a crucial factor in the inability of the project to move forward. The new maps, adopted in 2012, show an expanded floodway, which cuts across the corner of the parcel. That mean that federal funds – part of the project’s financing … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor park advisory commission meeting (Aug. 21, 2012): Several items at the August monthly PAC meeting related to parks and green space in downtown Ann Arbor – improving what the city already owns, and possibly adding more to it.

In their main action item, commissioners voted to direct PAC’s dog park subcommittee to develop recommendations that could lead to additional off-leash dog parks, to be located in central Ann Arbor. Those recommendations will likely be presented at PAC’s Sept. 18 meeting.

The commissioner who’s been spearheading this effort for more than a year, John Lawter, didn’t attend the meeting. That disappointed one member of the public, Steve Thorp, who advocated for West Park to be considered as a potential site for a dog park. He dubbed Lawter “Citizen Canine” and said the ballfield at West Park could be a spot for a temporary dog park during certain hours of the day or times of the year.

Commissioners also heard from mayor John Hieftje, who asked PAC to help prioritize action on downtown parks. He highlighted possible improvements at Liberty Plaza and a process for moving that work forward. [.pdf of Liberty Plaza staff memo] But he also listed several other city-owned properties that he’d like to see as part of a greenway – including the 721 N. Main and 415 W. Washington sites – as well as the DTE/MichCon property that’s being cleaned up along the Huron River.

Commissioner Tim Berla asked how the Library Lane site – atop the new underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue – fits into the mayor’s vision for downtown parks. Hieftje said he’d attended a picnic there this summer hosted by the Library Green advocates. He felt it was a little disingenuous of them to show images of a possible future park with large, mature trees – because there’s only three inches of soil, he said, so if you’re looking for greenery and shade, that’s not the best place. There’s room for a plaza, Hieftje added, but the question is how large it should be.

The Library Lane site is one of five city-owned properties that are being evaluated as part of the Connecting William Street effort, which aims to coordinate planning and possible development on those properties. At the Aug. 21 meeting commissioners were briefed about that project, led by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The DDA was seeking feedback from PAC on three development scenarios that, generally speaking, represent low density, moderate density and high density development.

Several commissioners expressed disappointment that the scenarios did not include more green space. Susan Pollay, the DDA’s executive director, urged PAC to give specific feedback about where they’d like to see more green space and how they envision it being used, in the context of other downtown parks. She said the city needs to find a “sweet spot” between parks and the population density needed to support those parks.

Also on the agenda was an update from the nonprofit Community Action Network. CAN operates Bryant Community Center and Northside Community Center under contract with the city, which owns those properties. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor city council meeting (Aug. 20, 2012): City council actions finalized the set of ballot questions for Ann Arbor voters on Nov. 6: A public art millage will join the Ann Arbor District Library’s bond proposal and the city of Ann Arbor’s parks maintenance and capital improvements millage on the ballot.

The public art millage would be levied at a rate of 0.1 mill, which would raise around $450,000 from Ann Arbor taxpayers annually. Passage of the public art millage would, according to the corresponding charter amendment, suspend the city’s public art funding mechanism embedded in the Percent for Art ordinance – but only for the duration of the four-year millage.

A selling point of the millage, compared to the current Percent for Art program, is that millage money could be used more flexibly than money set aside under the Percent for Art program. The Percent for Art ordinance requires that 1% of all city capital projects be set aside for art. But this funding mechanism carries with it a legal requirement that art paid for through the program be in some sense “monumental” art that is permanent. Performance art or temporary installations would not qualify under the current program.

Even though a millage offers more flexibility, leaders in the arts community are concerned about a possible perception that it would be completely flexible – which led the council to change the ballot language and charter amendment from “public art” to “art in public places.”

A proposal from Jane Lumm (Ward 2) to begin the process of revising the Percent for Art ordinance in advance of the millage vote got little traction from the council. Lumm indicated that she wanted to offer voters a clear choice – that unless the millage were approved, public funding for art would disappear. But her resolution was voted down, with additional support only from Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) and Mike Anglin (Ward 5).

The majority of councilmembers felt that such a move was “premature.” Mayor John Hieftje indicated that he was open to a scenario in which the millage passed, the tax was levied for four years (which would generate roughly $1.8 million in money that could be spent flexibly), but then was not offered to voters for renewal after four years, which would mean an automatic reversion to the current Percent for Art program.

In other business, the council declined to take action on two pieces of land at opposite ends of the downtown – 414 N. Main St. (site of the old St. Nicholas Church), and 350 S. Fifth Ave. (the former YMCA lot). The council rejected a proposal to begin the rezoning process for the St. Nicholas Church property – in advance of a public auction of the land starting Sept. 6. The council also declined to support a directive to the city administrator to prepare for disposition of the old Y lot, citing an ongoing planning process for the area of downtown Ann Arbor that includes the city-owned parcel. That process – Connecting William Street – is being led by the Ann Arbor DDA under direction from the city council.

The council transacted a mixed bag of other business, including approval of a collaborative effort with Washtenaw County to handle towing. The council also approved the final grant contract necessary for completing an environmental study in connection with a runway extension at the Ann Arbor municipal airport.

The council rejected a proposal from Comcast for a new franchise agreement, opting instead to allow the current arrangement to stay in place at least through the end of its term in 2017.

The meeting ended around midnight with jostling among councilmembers on the issue of mayoral appointments. Prompting the discussion was the reappointment of Sandi Smith (Ward 1) to the board of the Ann Arbor DDA. Kunselman and Lumm voted against the reappointment, objecting to Smith’s dual service on the city council and the DDA board. Smith was originally appointed to the board before her election to the council in 2008 and is not seeking re-election this term. Other councilmembers defended Smith’s selection.

Less controversial was the appointment of Michael Benson to the taxicab board. That body had been unable to meet because it had only two voting members out of five, and could not achieve a quorum. If all three members show up now, that body can hold its meeting. [Full Story]

A planning effort by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority, Connecting William Street, got an implicit expression of support from the city council at its Aug. 20, 2012 meeting, when it voted down a resolution directing the city administrator to proceed independently of that effort. [See also Chronicle coverage: "Planning Group Briefed on William Street Project"]

The resolution would have directed city administrator Steve Powers to evaluate the parcel at 350 S. Fifth for possible public or corporate use; and if none was found, to report back to the city council with a timeline for the disposition of the property – based on state and city laws and policies. That parcel is more commonly known as the Fifth and William parking … [Full Story]

At their recent working session, Ann Arbor planning commissioners got their first detailed look at the Connecting William Street project – an effort to coordinate planning for five city-owned sites in downtown Ann Arbor.

Led by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority at the behest of city council, the project’s goal is to build a framework to guide possible development of those sites, which are primarily surface parking lots: (1) the Kline’s lot (on the east side of Ashley, north of William), (2) the lot next to Palio restaurant (northeast corner of Main & William), (3) the ground floor of the Fourth & William parking structure, (4) the old YMCA lot (on William between Fourth and Fifth), and (5) the top of the Library Lane underground parking garage on South Fifth, which recently opened north of the downtown library.

Amber Miller of the DDA and Cheryl Zuellig of SmithGroupJJR led the Aug. 14 discussion and solicited feedback on three development scenarios. Broadly speaking, the scenarios represent low density, moderate density and high density development, and all conform to current zoning. They were created based on input from interviews, focus groups, an online survey, and the work of land use economist Todd Poole. [.pdf of Poole's market study]

Miller stressed that these scenarios are not recommendations for development, but are being used as conversation starters to get additional feedback. The final recommendation to the city council, which is expected in late October, will likely be a hybrid of the ideas in these scenarios.

The planning commission had a wide-ranging discussion, floating questions and suggestions. Ideas included: (1) creating spaces for food carts to give downtown workers more low-cost lunch options; (2) building structures that are adaptable, and that could easily be transformed from office to residential space; and (3) incorporating aspects of the city’s recently approved sustainability framework, as well as elements of a climate action plan that’s being developed.

Wendy Rampson, the city’s planning manager, raised concerns over Ann Arbor becoming a “Disneyland of foodies,” and stressed the importance of diversity for a healthy downtown. Poole’s market study indicates that Ann Arbor residents spend 1.6 times the national average on dining out and entertainment.

Eric Mahler, a planning commissioner who served on a committee that had recommended a development on top of the Library Lot, cautioned that the public’s response to any proposal can’t be underestimated. People will likely challenge any assumptions related to market demand, he said, such as demand for a conference center. He also indicated that parking and traffic concerns shouldn’t be underestimated – people will raise those issues, too.

Miller noted that one of the lessons they’ve learned from previous unsuccessful efforts is the importance of having conversations in advance of specific proposals, and of reaching out to a more diverse group of people. That’s what they’ve been doing with Connecting William Street, she said, and it’s what they’ll continue to do in the coming weeks as they gather input for a final recommendation. [Full Story]

Nominated for reappointment to the board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority are Sandi Smith, Roger Hewitt and Keith Orr. Those nominations were placed before the city council by mayor John Hieftje at the council’s Aug. 9, 2012 meeting.

This year’s DDA board officer elections, held  two months ago at the July 2, 2012 annual meeting, again featured abstention on some votes by board member Newcombe Clark – because the future composition of the board was not yet clear. Hieftje’s custom for many re-appointments to city boards and commissions has been to provide no public indication of his intentions on those nominations.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (July 2, 2012): In its one action item, the DDA board approved a new contract with Republic Parking, which includes a roughly $1.5 million purchase of new automated payment equipment for several of the city’s parking structures. Of that amount, close to $1.3 million will be bought with a loan from Republic Parking to the DDA.

The DDA manages the city’s public parking system under a contract with the city of Ann Arbor – which stipulates that the city receives 17% of gross revenues from the system. The DDA in turn sub-contracts out the day-to-day parking operations to Republic Parking. The relationship between the DDA and Republic goes back to 2001. The contract ratified on July 2 is for five years through 2017, with two one-year options to renew.

For the first year of the contract with Republic, the DDA board will be led by Leah Gunn. She was elected board chair at the DDA’s annual meeting, which took place after the regular monthly meeting concluded. Outgoing chair Bob Guenzel, who will continue to serve on the board, was thanked for his service. Sandi Smith was elected vice chair.

One of the major tasks on the DDA’s work plan in the coming year will be to continue the Connecting William Street (CWS) planning effort. It’s a project the city council directed the DDA to undertake in early 2011 – to explore alternative uses for city-owned surface parking lots in the rectangle bounded by Division, William, Ashley and Liberty streets.

At its July 2 meeting, the DDA board got an update on that planning effort, which has reached the point of three draft scenarios for the five parcels in question. When the three draft scenarios are settled and shared with the public through an outreach process, a preferred scenario will be developed – not by selecting one of the three scenarios in its entirety, but in a “Mr. Potato Head” fashion, choosing features from each scenario on a parcel-by-parcel basis.

The study area of the CWS effort includes the top of the new underground parking garage, now dubbed the Library Lane parking structure – named after the new mid-block cut-through that connects Division Street and Fifth Avenue. [Despite the name, the Ann Arbor District Library does not own the garage or the lane.] The grand opening of the garage is set for Thursday, July 12 at 5 p.m. A significant number of the new spaces in the structure will likely be occupied by monthly permit holders who work for Barracuda Networks, a company that’s moving into the former Borders corporate offices on Maynard Street.

Also located in the CWS study area is the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority’s Blake Transit Center (BTC), which is set for reconstruction starting this fall. Michael Ford, CEO of the AATA, gave DDA board members an update on that construction project, which will see the center relocated from the Fourth Avenue side of the block to the Fifth Avenue side. Ford told the DDA board he hoped for a positive outcome on the BTC site plan at the city planning commission meeting on July 17, and at the city council’s Aug. 20 meeting. He hopes to break ground on the new BTC in September or October, with completion before the 2013 art fairs, which are held annually in July.

At its July 2 meeting, the board was also updated on some grant requests – one for a bike-sharing program and another for a transportation alternatives analysis study for the corridor starting at US-23 and Plymouth, extending southward to State and continuing to I-94. During public commentary, the board was also pitched the idea of supporting an online “tech bounty board” to match small technical projects with people who can do the work. [Full Story]

At its annual meeting on July 2, 2012, held immediately following its regular monthly meeting, the board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority elected its officers for the coming year: Leah Gunn, chair; Sandi Smith, vice chair; Keith Orr, secretary; Roger Hewitt, treasurer. The DDA thus followed its custom of electing its current vice chair to serve as chair for the next year.

DDA board members serve four-year terms. Reaching the end of their terms this year on July 31, 2012 are Roger Hewitt, Sandi Smith and Keith Orr. Smith is not seeking re-election to the city council representing Ward 1 city, but has indicated she’d like to continue to serve on the DDA board. It would be her third … [Full Story]

At its July 2, 2012 meeting, the board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority voted to renew its contract with Republic Parking for the management of operations for the city’s public parking system. The renewal is for five years through 2017, with an option to renew twice for a year each time. The renewal of the contract includes a five-year $1.5 million loan to the DDA from Republic Parking to cover upfront costs for installing new payment equipment.

The DDA has contracted with Republic Parking since 2001. The contract covers Republic’s costs, plus a $200,000 annual management incentive, of which $50,000 is discretionary. Over the last few years, the DDA board has consistently awarded $45,000 of that amount.

It’s the DDA … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (June 6, 2012): The board’s action items this month covered both of the DDA’s functions – as the administrator of tax increment finance (TIF) revenues within its geographic district, as well as the manager of the city’s parking system.

On the TIF side, the board first adopted a formal policy to guide its allocation of grants to new private developments. The board then acted to authorize a $650,000 TIF-capture-based grant to the 618 S. Main project. The policy applies to developments that are seeking to leverage support from the state’s brownfield and Community Revitalization Program, or other matching programs.

Highlights of that policy include a priority ranking of benefits that a development must offer. At the top of that list: A requirement that the project fills a gap in the existing market. The DDA board concluded that the 618 S. Main project filled such a gap – by targeting residential space for young professionals. The $650,000 would be distributed over four years, with the amount in any one year not to exceed the estimated $250,000 in TIF capture that would ordinarily be retained by the DDA as a result of the completed construction.

The board was interested in achieving a unanimous vote of support for the 618 S. Main grant, and not all board members agreed with covering bank carrying costs and the full amount of streetscape improvements. So the $650,000 reflected a reduction from a $725,000 grant in the original resolution before the board.

On the parking side of the DDA’s responsibilities, routine business was mixed with issues involving the imminent opening of a new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue. In the routine category was the board’s authorization of three-year leases for two properties from companies controlled by First Martin Corp., which the DDA manages as surface parking lots – at Huron/Ashley and Huron/First. Per space, the Huron/Ashley lot generates more revenue per month than any of the other public parking facilities in the city.

The board was also presented with a demand-management strategy for encouraging the use of the new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue, which is scheduled to open in mid-July. Highlights of that strategy include a reduced rate for monthly permits of $95/month – a $50/month savings over the $145/month rate set to take effect in September this year, and a $60 savings over the extra increase that the DDA is planning for two structures. The special $95/month permits are available only to current holders of permits in two other parking structures in the system: Liberty Square and Maynard Street. The DDA wants to free up spaces in those two structures for people who do not hold permits, and pay the hourly rate instead.

The DDA board also heard public commentary from advocates for some kind of public park to be constructed on top of the new underground parking structure – instead of using the space for additional surface parking, with the eventual possibility of allowing development of a significantly-sized building there.

In the board’s final action item, routine adjustments were made to the current fiscal year’s budget in order to assure that actual expenses did not exceed budgeted revenues for any of the DDA’s four funds. Last year, the routine adjustment did not adequately cover construction invoices that arrived after the final budget adjustment, something that was pointed out in the DDA’s audit for that year. [Full Story]

At its June 6, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board voted unanimously to renew lease agreements for two surface parking lots in downtown Ann Arbor. One lot is known as the Brown Block, bounded by Huron, Ashley, Liberty Washington and First streets. The other is located on the southeast corner of Huron Street and South Fifth Avenue. The new leases extend for a period of three years.

The DDA manages the two lots as part of Ann Arbor’s public parking system. The leases, which have been in place for several years, are between the DDA and two limited liability companies owned by local real estate development firm First Martin Corp. Those two companies are Huron Ashley LLC … [Full Story]

At its June 6, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor Downtown Authority board authorized amendments to its previously approved fiscal year FY 2012 budget (ending in three weeks, on June 30), which is an annual exercise undertaken to ensure that the actual expenses incurred are allowed for in the budget.

An example of a major difference between the already authorized budget and the amended version is an adjustment upward from $1,017,847 – for capital construction costs from the TIF fund – to $3,480,701. Those costs are construction invoices related to the new South Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, which is expected to open in mid-July. The budget adjustments are conservative, in that it assumes the parking garage will be completed and invoices … [Full Story]

At its June 6, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority authorized a grant to the 618 S. Main project, totaling $650,000 over four years. The vote was unanimous.

The grant assumes that the amount of additional tax increment finance (TIF) revenue that the DDA would capture as a result of completed construction of the project would be $250,000 a year. The money is granted to pay for streetscape improvements on Main  and Mosley streets, and the upsizing of the water main under Ashley Street to a 12-inch main. The originally-proposed grant totaled $725,000, but that amount was reduced through amendments made at the board meeting, which eliminated bank carrying costs as an expense to be covered. Another amendment reduced … [Full Story]

South Fifth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor – one-way southbound between Liberty and William – will not be re-opened to traffic until sometime in mid-June. The street has been closed since August 2010 in connection with the construction of a new underground parking garage on the east side of Fifth, which will offer around 700 spaces. The city’s public parking system currently has 6,956 spaces.

At its May 2, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board had been updated with the expectation that the street would be re-opened by the end of May. [photo of South Fifth, taken on May 31]

The groundbreaking for the garage occurred in the fall of 2009. [photo] The project was originally expected to be … [Full Story]

On the evening of May 21, the Ann Arbor city council will start its second meeting in May. I’d like to suggest not ending Monday’s meeting on Monday.

That’s right, I’d like to “kick the can down the road.” I suppose it’s a pretty big can. But it’s a short road – only one week.

Letting that meeting continue past Monday will be a benefit to the council and Ann Arbor residents, as well as to other public bodies like the Ann Arbor District Library, Washtenaw County, Washtenaw Community College and the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

The city charter requires that by the end of that meeting, the council must approve the city budget for fiscal year 2013 – which begins on July 1, 2012. If the council does not act on the budget before the end of the meeting, then according to the city charter, the budget proposed by the city administrator on April 16, 2012 will automatically take effect. Last year, the “second meeting in May” was conducted over the course of sessions on three separate days, and did not end until May 31, 2011.

Last year’s extension of that second meeting in May – achieved  by recessing and reconvening on subsequent days – stemmed from the council’s desire to achieve clarity about issues related to the DDA. The issue centered around tax increment finance (TIF) capture, as well as the contract under which the DDA operates the city’s public parking system.

This year, one of the amendments that’s almost certain to be proposed on Monday – by Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) – revisits the issue of the DDA’s TIF capture, and provides a recurring revenue source for the city to fund two firefighter positions this year, and perhaps more in subsequent years. Kunselman’s amendment calls for the kind of interpretation of the city’s ordinance on DDA TIF capture for which I’ve previously advocated. [See "Column: Tax Capture is a Varsity Sport"]

So this year, I’d like to suggest that city councilmembers plan now to take advantage of the parliamentary option of recessing their May 21 meeting until May 28 – so that they and the public can give thorough consideration to at least nine other budget amendments (in addition to Kunselman’s DDA/firefighter amendment) that could be brought forward on Monday.

The formal public hearing on the budget was already held and closed on May 7, 2012. It enjoyed the participation of just three Ann Arbor residents. By establishing the May 21 session as an occasion to sketch out the intent and the mechanics of proposed budget amendments, the council would better serve the public’s interest in being able to advocate for or against the various proposed amendments to the budget.

I’d also like to use the occasion of this column to lay out the content of some of the fire protection amendments, and to single out Kunselman’s amendment as one that I think especially deserves the entire council’s support.   [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (May 2, 2012): The one action item on the board’s agenda was a resolution directing its operations committee to start applying demand-management principles to the pricing for permits in Ann Arbor’s public parking system. The resolution, which passed unanimously, notes that the goal of the pricing strategy is to attract patrons to those structures that are located farther away from the University of Michigan campus.

One of those structures farther west of the campus is the new underground parking garage on South Fifth Avenue, which is nearing completion. The garage, which the DDA is currently calling the “Library Lane” parking structure, is now expected to open by the time the art fairs begin, which this year fall on July 18–21. South Fifth Avenue between Liberty and William is expected to re-open by Memorial Day.

A characterization of that timing as “on schedule” was disputed during public commentary by Ali Ramlawi, owner of the Jerusalem Garden restaurant. Jerusalem Garden is adjacent to the construction site. Ramlawi noted that the structure was originally due to be completed by August 2011.

The future use of the top of the underground garage was the subject of public commentary from advocates who’d like to see it used as a green plaza. That suggestion was met with remarks from mayor John Hieftje, who sits on the DDA board, with a description of his expectation that three major parcels would soon be incorporated into the city’s park system – 721 N. Main, 415 W. Washington, and the MichCon property (located between the Amtrak rail station and the Huron River near the Broadway bridges). Hieftje’s point was that the additional financial burden for the maintenance of those parcels as parks might impact the city’s ability to add a downtown green plaza to the park system.

Requests for better information about the parking system and suggestions for disseminating information about the availability of open parking spaces were topics of additional public commentary.

Although it was not an action item, the board discussed a draft policy on supporting “brownfield” projects – a policy prompted by discussions at the board’s partnerships committee over the last few months. [.pdf of draft DDA brownfield policy]

The committee has been discussing a proposal by Dan Ketelaar for support of a proposed development at 618 S. Main, which received a positive recommendation from the Ann Arbor planning commission on Jan. 19, 2012. If the project moves forward, the 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles. Ketelaar has estimated that the tax on the increment between the current valuation of the property and the final built project would yield around $250,000 a year in TIF (tax increment finance) revenue to the DDA. If adopted as it’s currently worded in the draft, the formula in the policy would translate into up to $625,000 of support for 618 S. Main.

The board also received updates on the third-quarter financial statements for the DDA, as well as an update on the Connection William Street planning project.  [Full Story]

At its May 2, 2012 meeting, the DDA board was presented with a draft policy on supporting “brownfield” projects – a policy prompted by discussions at the board’s partnerships committee over the last few months. [.pdf of draft DDA brownfield policy] The board was not expected to act on the policy, and did not vote.

The committee has been discussing a proposal by Dan Ketelaar for support of a proposed development at 618 S. Main, which received a positive recommendation from the Ann Arbor planning commission on Jan. 19, 2012. The 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles. Ketelaar has estimated that the tax on the increment between the current valuation … [Full Story]

At its May 2, 2012 meeting, the board of the Ann Arbor Downtown Authority approved a resolution that authorizes its operations committee (aka bricks & money and transportation committee) to use demand management strategies to price monthly parking permits in Ann Arbor’s public parking system. The goal of adjusting monthly parking permit rates is to expand campus-area parking to structures other than those immediately adjacent to the University of Michigan campus. In broad strokes, “demand managent strategies” means pricing the most desirable parking options higher than those that are less desirable.

The move comes as the opening of the new underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue, offering around 700 additional total spaces, is set to open by the start of the Ann … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (April 4, 2012): The absence of four out of 12 DDA board members had no effect on any outcomes at the meeting, because the board did not have resolutions on its agenda.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of the DDA’s budget presentation to the city council the following week – on April 9 – and various other ongoing projects. So the board’s agenda consisted of a collection of regular committee updates and status reports.

Those included an update on the Connecting William Street project – an initiative to explore alternative uses of a limited set of city-owned parcels currently used for parking. The DDA embarked on the project at the direction of the Ann Arbor city council in a resolution it approved about a year ago – on April 4, 2011. The DDA had wanted the ability to lead that exploration, partly in exchange for renegotiating a contract under which the DDA operates the city’s public parking system. That new contract was finally settled on May 31, 2011, and features a clause that provides the city of Ann Arbor 17% of gross revenues out of the public parking system.

Total parking revenues for fiscal year 2013 are projected at around $18 million in the budget approved by the DDA board at its meeting the previous month, on March 7, 2012. That budget was presented by the DDA at a city council work session on April 9. The budget presentation featured a review of the DDA’s history of infrastructure investment and impact on the downtown district since its formation in 1982 – over $100 million of DDA investment, accompanied by $300 million in private investment and an increase in taxable value from $89 million to $386 million.

Another work session highlight was a series of questions posed by councilmember Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) about compliance with Ann Arbor’s ordinance that regulates how the tax increment finance (TIF) tax capture works for the DDA district. Last year, the city’s financial staff pointed to Chapter 7 of the city code, which appears to limit the amount of taxes the DDA can “capture” from the other taxing units in the district. The DDA board agreed with the city’s interpretation, and returned $473,000 in combined TIF revenues to the Ann Arbor District Library, Washtenaw Community College and Washtenaw County.

Subsequently, the DDA reversed its position and gave a different interpretation to Chapter 7. Responding to Kunselman at the work session, DDA board chair (and retired Washtenaw County administrator) Bob Guenzel told Kunselman that the DDA had informed other taxing units of the DDA’s revised position, which was not to say they agreed with the DDA, he said.

Also the focus of TIF monies captured by the DDA is a proposed development at 618 S. Main, which received a positive recommendation from the Ann Arbor planning commission on Jan. 19, 2012. The 7-story building would include 190 units for 231 bedrooms, plus two levels of parking for 121 vehicles. The developer of the project, Dan Ketelaar, has estimated that the tax on the increment between the current valuation of the property and the final built project would yield around $250,000 a year in TIF revenue to the DDA.

Ketelaar is was initially asking that in addition to reimbursement of certain costs (at around $1.4 million) within six months of the project’s completion, the DDA pledge 80% of its TIF capture money for six years – an additional $1.3 million – to support certain aspects of the project in connection with the state’s Community Revitalization Program. But subsequently, Ketelaar revised the request to include just the TIF reimbursement. So the total request, over six years, is $1.3 million. The CRP is the successor to the brownfield and historic preservation tax credit program. In order to approve the tax credit, the state would like to see a commensurate commitment from local units – and Ketelaar is proposing that it take the form of the DDA’s support.

Ketelaar has pitched his idea to the DDA board on several occasions now – first at the full board meeting on Feb. 1, 2012, and at three subsequent DDA partnerships committee meetings. DDA board members are cautious about the precedent that such a pledge might set, and the appropriateness of the DDA’s role at this early stage in the project. (Ketelaar has not yet acquired the land.) At the March 28 partnerships committee meeting, DDA board member Newcombe Clark expressed concern that, depending on the precise role defined for the DDA’s participation, the DDA could effectively be artificially inflating land values.

This report takes a look in more detail at Connecting William Street, the DDA’s April 9 budget presentation to the city council, the lingering TIF capture issue, and the 618 S. Main project, as well as odds and ends from the April 4 DDA board meeting. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor city council meeting (April 2, 2012) Part 2: At a long meeting that stretched until midnight, the council handled multiple items involving direction to city staff – one of which was related to enforcement of medical marijuana laws. All medical marijuana issues from the meeting are covered in Part 1 of The Chronicle’s meeting report.

Neither of the other two resolutions involving direction to staff got much support on the council. Failing on a 3-7 vote was a resolution that would have directed the city attorney to provide a written opinion on the transfer of funds from the city’s street millage fund to the public art fund. The resolution got support only from its sponsors, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) and Sabra Briere (Ward 1), who were joined by Mike Anglin (Ward 5). The council postponed a separate item that would have authorized $150,000 for a piece of art that the public art commission has recommended for the lobby of the new Justice Center.

Failing on a 4-6 vote was a resolution related to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. It directed city staff to “to review, analyze, and report on the compliance of the DDA provided TIF calculation and capture amount” – an issue that relates to excess capture of taxes identified last year. The three who supported the resolution requesting an opinion on public art were joined by Jane Lumm (Ward 2) in supporting the TIF resolution. Only 10 councilmembers attended the meeting – Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) was absent. But even if Higgins had voted for the two resolutions, they still would have failed.

Generating some controversy were two items involving automobiles. The council gave final approval to changes in parking regulations that include a provision allowing the developer of a downtown project to meet minimum parking requirements without building parking spaces on site. The alternative is to make a payment in lieu of building parking spaces, or to sign a long-term contract to purchase monthly parking permits in the public parking system. Anglin voted against the ordinance change as well as the specific policy governing the payments in lieu of parking.

On another automobile-related item, Anglin was joined by Lumm in opposing a resolution that made a formal request to the Michigan Dept. of Transportation to convert a segment of Jackson Road between Maple Road and South Revena from four traffic lanes to three. That request will move forward. In another road-related item, the council unanimously approved a $3,647,344 construction contract for the first set of streets to be repaired in the 2012 program. That will be followed at the council’s next meeting, on April 16, by a second contract for an additional set of streets.

The council also gave approval to three different site plans – for Arbor Hills Crossing on Washtenaw Avenue, Les Voyageurs near Argo Pond, and Noodles & Co. on West Stadium Boulevard.

Public commentary at the end of the meeting featured several speakers who called the council’s attention to April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. [Full Story]

At its April 2, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved the policy by which the minimum required parking component of developments in the downtown D1 and D2 zoning districts can be satisfied off-site from the development. The city is using the acronym CIL for “contribution in lieu” to describe the option. The idea could be familiar to some readers as PILOP, or “payment in lieu of parking.” The sole vote against the resolution came from Mike Anglin (Ward 5).

If not provided on-site, the policy allows some of the minimum required parking spaces to be provided with one of two basic strategies: (1) commit to a 15-year contract with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority to purchase monthly permits … [Full Story]

At its April 2, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council declined to pass a resolution that would have asked city staff to verify the compliance of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority with the city’s ordinance that governs how the DDA’s tax capture works. In declining to pass the resolution, the council gave its implicit approval to the DDA’s interpretation of the ordinance, which the DDA currently claims does not, in fact, limit its tax capture.

That’s a reversal of both the DDA and the city’s position from last May, when city financial staff pointed out the implications of the city ordinance. The result was a computation of excess TIF capture of over $1 million. The city of Ann Arbor … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board meeting (March 7, 2012): The main business item for the board at its monthly meeting was the approval of its budget for the coming fiscal year 2013, which starts on July 1, 2012. Across all funds, the FY 2013 DDA budget shows anticipated revenues of $22,097,956 against $24,101,692 in expenditures – for an excess of expenditures over revenues of $2,003,736.

The difference will be covered from the existing fund balance. The use of fund balance, in the current year and in the coming year, was planned as part of the construction of a new underground parking structure on South Fifth Avenue, and a new contract with the city of Ann Arbor, ratified in May of 2011. The contract, under which the DDA manages the city’s public parking system, pays the city of Ann Arbor 17% of gross revenues from the parking system.

At the end of FY 2013, the DDA expects to have a total fund balance of $4.38 million, or an amount equal to about 18.2% of expenses.

In its other main business item, the board authorized a budget of $100,000 for its Connecting William Street project, which it’s undertaking at the direction of the Ann Arbor city council. The council passed a resolution on April 4, 2011 that gave the DDA direction to explore alternative uses of city-owned parcels – currently used for surface parking – in a limited area of downtown. The area is bounded by Ashley, Division, Liberty and William streets.

Parcels included in the area are: the Kline’s lot (on Ashley, north of William), Palio’s lot (at Main & William), the ground floor of the Fourth & William parking structure, the old Y lot (Fifth & William), and the top of the Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, which is nearing completion.

Of the budgeted amount, $65,000 will come from a community challenge grant awarded recently as part of a larger $3 million grant awarded to Washtenaw County by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. The remaining $35,000 will be made up by DDA cash (no more than $20,000) and DDA in-kind contributions of staff time.

Toward the end of Wednesday’s meeting, the board also entertained some discussion about parking meter bags. The bags placed over on-street parking meters to designate the spots as unusable, so that streets are free of parked cars for construction projects or special events. The meter bag discussion came in the context of a request on behalf of FestiFools and conveyed by mayor John Hieftje, who sits on the DDA board. The request was to waive fees ordinarily associated with the meter bag placement for the April 1 FestiFools parade in downtown Ann Arbor.

One possible approach includes the creation of a parking meter puppet. [Full Story]

At its March 7, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board unanimously approved its fiscal year 2013 budget. Across all funds, it shows anticipated expenses revenues of $22,097,956 against $24,101,692 in expenditures – for an excess of expenditures over revenues of $2,003,736. The difference will be covered from the existing fund balance.

The shortfall was planned. It’s in the context of construction of a new underground parking structure on Fifth Avenue, and a new contract with the city of Ann Arbor, ratified in May of 2011, under which the DDA manages the city’s public parking system. That contract pays the city of Ann Arbor 17% of gross revenues from the parking system, which are budgeted in FY 2103 … [Full Story]