W. Kingsley House Finally to Be Demolished

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved the purchase – for $185,000 – of two parcels on the northern edge of downtown Ann Arbor, at 215 and 219 W. Kingsley. The purchase will clear the way to the demolition of a long-vacant house, considered by many to be an eyesore. The money for the purchase was awarded as a pre-disaster mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which the city council accepted through a resolution passed at its Nov. 15, 2010 meeting.

The delay in the purchase of the property was due in part to the owner’s initial reluctance to sell the property to the city at the appraised price.

After the city acquires the land, the house on one of the parcels will be demolished and a rain garden will be installed, using stormwater utility funds as part of the city’s capital improvements plan (CIP). The parcels are located in the FEMA floodway as determined by the new map given final approval by the city council the same night the purchase was approved. [.jpg image of parcels and floodway]

The city’s public art commission, at its Nov. 30, 2011 meeting, approved the new rain garden as a project in which to include public art, establishing a project budget between $20,000 and $27,000.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]