What Mr. Bernstein doesn’t seem to realize is that our historic districts are a part of our city’s governance. It is not a matter of old vs. historic. The properties in these districts are reviewed by the HDC when changes are proposed. However, the University is not subject to ANY city regulations, including historic districts, so if it buys a building with a historic designation it cannot be stopped from tearing it down. This was the case with the Planada Apt bldg on Ann St. It is unfortunate that this disiniformation is being spread by such a reputable source and no one has the able to counter it.

This Ann Arbor native and Chapel Hill resident thought this was a pretty bizarre statement as well:

Many of the homes on campus are more than 100 years old, and have traditionally been rented to students. The town and UM have argued over what is historic and should be preserved, and what is just old, said Jesse Bernstein, president of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce.

Sometimes the university wins, and the houses are preserved. Sometimes the city wins, and it gets the go-ahead to erct a 10-story mixed use facility.

Link:

http://dthannarbor.wordpress.com/2008/09/15/a-tour-of-ann-arbor/

I must have missed all those battles where the university stood up to the city in support of historic preservation against redevelopment. Again, not sure whether it’s bad reporting or the Ann Arbor folks were spreading misinformation.

Love the new venture.

CitizenWill, it’s hard to know if the reporter misunderstood, or if his source (who wasn’t identified) made some kind of misstatement. I characterized it as “bizarre” because, well, no one (that I know of) wants to tear down shorter buildings en masse just to build taller ones. And some of the taller buildings that are proposed are facing opposition. It’s a contentious issue here – lots of people say they support greater density. But when faced with a specific project, there’s not as much happy talk.