HomeDiagramsDatabaseMapsForum About
     

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Discussion Forums > Buildings & Architecture > Never Built & Visionary Projects > Cancelled Project Threads Archive


 

 
Thread Tools Display Modes
     
     
  #1  
Old Posted Jan 21, 2016, 2:08 AM
animatedmartian's Avatar
animatedmartian animatedmartian is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,945
ANN ARBOR | Collective on 5th | 180 FT | 17 FLOORS

About 2 years ago, the City of Ann Arbor set out to develop a parking lot adjacent to the city library. After dozens of proposals, the city council focused on Chicago-based Core Spaces' proposal. On January 20th, 2016, Ann Arbor's city council voted to start negotiations on selling the library lot to Core Spaces. The proposal itself has three massing options though Option B is the favored one.


Quote:
Developer confident heading into Ann Arbor Library Lot negotiations

Myefski Architects, the design firm working with Core Spaces, on Wednesday released new renderings of the project officially known as The Collective on 5th, showing views from both the east and west, as well as the proposed plaza.
Core Spaces is offering the city $10 million for the development rights to the Library Lot, the parking lot above the Library Lane underground garage.

The 352,496-square-foot building, as currently proposed, would include 360 apartments, 131 hotel rooms, 3,353 square feet of retail/restaurant space, and 20,198 square feet of office space.

With only seven council members in favor of entering contract negotiations Tuesday night, the development team will have to work to pick up at least one more vote by the time a negotiated sale agreement comes back to council in April.

The sale will require eight votes, which means opposition from just four council members will effectively block the development.

....






Last edited by animatedmartian; Jul 21, 2017 at 2:01 PM. Reason: re-uploading photos
     
     
  #2  
Old Posted Nov 25, 2017, 3:12 PM
deja vu's Avatar
deja vu deja vu is offline
somewhere in-between
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: The Zoo, Michigan
Posts: 3,498
This news is about a month old, but since I just noticed that animatedmartian had a thread going for this development, I figured I'd add to it:

Quote:
IRS warns Ann Arbor to be careful with 17-story high-rise deal
By Ryan Stanton | MLive
October 16, 2017
The IRS audit for federal bonds used to finance the underground parking deck which would support the future Collective on 5th is officially closed. The conclusion of the audit is that the city is in compliance, but a word of caution was issued. It basically comes down to this:

Quote:
...The bonds would no longer be tax advantaged if more than 10 percent of the proceeds were used for private business and if more than 10 percent of the bonds were secured by private payments. After reviewing information provided by the city regarding the various cost elements for the Library Lane garage project, including costs for structural and utility improvements to support future development, the city's bond counsel maintains that less than 10 percent of the proceeds of the bonds were used for private business...
It sounds like the words of warning are boilerplate comments from the IRS, but that the approach of city council is to proceed carefully.

Quote:
...Jack Eaton, one of three City Council members who opposes the Core Spaces deal, said he's not put at ease by either the bond counsel memo or the IRS audit letter. He said he's not seeing any clear assurances that there's no risk for the city. Mayor Christopher Taylor tweeted on Monday, Oct. 16, that the language in the IRS letter is "IRS-ese" for "The audit is closed, continue to pay attention to this issue going forward..."
Preliminary site layout plan. The formal site plan for the project is yet to be officially reviewed / approved. Developer plans include a large plaza area:


The Library Lot, atop the underground parking structure, as it looks now:

Images Source: Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News / MLive
     
     
  #3  
Old Posted Nov 25, 2017, 4:06 PM
animatedmartian's Avatar
animatedmartian animatedmartian is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,945
I thought this project would be moving a lot faster than it has been. I didn't even realize this thread is coming up on two years old and we're not even close to an estimate groundbreaking date.
     
     
  #4  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2017, 12:31 PM
LMich's Avatar
LMich LMich is offline
Midwest Moderator - Editor
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Big Mitten
Posts: 31,745
Building in Ann Arbor is like pulling teeth. That they've even got this far with such a controversial project is amazing. There are ones that don't require any funky financing that get held up for years over next to nothing.

I'm still not getting the issue about the bonds, though, and what they mean by tax advantaged. Someone want to hash out this legalese for me?

It's kind of crazy, because for whatever reason I thought the Library Lot was a decades old garage, but it looks like it's only a few years old.
__________________
Where the trees are the right height
     
     
  #5  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2017, 3:45 PM
animatedmartian's Avatar
animatedmartian animatedmartian is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,945
Quote:
Originally Posted by LMich View Post
Building in Ann Arbor is like pulling teeth. That they've even got this far with such a controversial project is amazing. There are ones that don't require any funky financing that get held up for years over next to nothing.

I'm still not getting the issue about the bonds, though, and what they mean by tax advantaged. Someone want to hash out this legalese for me?

It's kind of crazy, because for whatever reason I thought the Library Lot was a decades old garage, but it looks like it's only a few years old.
Yea, the Library Lot used to be a surface parking lot but was rebuilt as an underground parking garage in 2012. It's apparently 4 floors of parking and has over 700 parking spaces. The foundations of the parking garage allow for a 20 floor building to be built on top of it though the NIMBYs would prefer a park.

The bonds issue is seemingly about the parking garage which of course was built and is owned by the city. The city isn't selling the garage to the developers but development rights to build on top of the garage. In return, the developers pay $10 million dollars to lease about 200 parking spaces (in addition to paying taxes and paying for construction like any other private development).

The NIMBYs are arguing that essentially the city built the parking garage for developers to use which meant that public money was used to fund a private investment which then would mean the city owes taxes on that parking garage. However, the IRS already said that this isn't the case and that the deal with Core Spaces can go through with no problem.
     
     
  #6  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2017, 3:49 PM
KevinFromTexas's Avatar
KevinFromTexas KevinFromTexas is offline
Meh
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: there and back again
Posts: 57,324
That's a really nice looking building. Those balconies are great. Because of the varying lengths, they give the illusion of there being overhangs even though there aren't any. I would love to see something like this in Austin's West Campus neighborhood. Good model for student housing.
__________________
Donate to Donald Trump's campaign today!

Thou shall not indict
     
     
  #7  
Old Posted Nov 26, 2017, 4:27 PM
deja vu's Avatar
deja vu deja vu is offline
somewhere in-between
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: The Zoo, Michigan
Posts: 3,498
Quote:
Originally Posted by LMich View Post
I'm still not getting the issue about the bonds, though, and what they mean by tax advantaged. Someone want to hash out this legalese for me?
I think what it basically means is that those federal bonds are either (a) completely exempt from taxes, (b) exempt from taxes on the interest portion only, or (c) tax-deferred in one of several ways. But only if the city complies with the rules of the issued bonds, like the one that no more than 10% of the funds can go towards the private portion of the development (i.e. the tower above the public parking garage). The city has verified that less than 10% of the $50 million invested in the parking garage was related to the planned future development (in the form of stronger footings and foundations that otherwise would not have been required if nothing ever went atop it). If it was somehow determined that this structural reinforcing, etc. equated to more than 10%, I don't think it means the bonds are called by the issuer, but it means the issuer will be penalized and owe more money in the end, because the bonds becoming taxable. Not something that the city wants to have happen.

Bond work is tricky in general.
     
     
  #8  
Old Posted Nov 27, 2017, 9:23 AM
LMich's Avatar
LMich LMich is offline
Midwest Moderator - Editor
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Big Mitten
Posts: 31,745
Thanks for the explanation, guys. The case by the opposition to this project seems very weak, then. It sounds like a hail mary.

Anyway, Ann Arbor really needs this. The plaza is also a very nice touch. Ann Arbor needs more downtown gathering spaces and spaces that focus development there. Everything down there feels kind of scatter-shot. Main and State are some of the best designed human-scaled urban corridors you'll find in the Midwest, but everything around and in between doesn't have anything to unite the core.
__________________
Where the trees are the right height
     
     
  #9  
Old Posted Dec 9, 2017, 11:29 PM
Fvn Fvn is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 694
The NIMBY argument is bs for 2 main reasons:
1) (as stated above) the city isn't selling the parking structure (I can't believe they don't realize that) only the top and they arnt even renting a half of the total 700 some parking spaces to the developer.

2) they will get a public space out of the whole thing... it would have seating, trees, and grass. If they want a park so bad why not campaign for it to be on the old ymca lot (literally like 100 feet away (They already scared a developer away from that lot)) I would say that lot is actually better for a park then the library lot... For starters it doesn't have a road (technically its a lane) running through it, second it's bigger and not boxed in by 3 lots; it faces the street on 3 sides thus making it feel more open, and third it's right next to (not across the street from) an already big gathering space the transit center.

also petitioners are calling it a skyscraper haha

Last edited by Fvn; Dec 9, 2017 at 11:40 PM.
     
     
  #10  
Old Posted Jun 8, 2018, 9:05 PM
deja vu's Avatar
deja vu deja vu is offline
somewhere in-between
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: The Zoo, Michigan
Posts: 3,498
Two news updates, also shared on the general A2 construction thread.

Quote:
Ann Arbor inks deal to sell downtown lot to Chicago developer for $10M
Ryan Stanton | MLive
June 04, 2018 (Updated June 07, 2018)

ANN ARBOR, MI - More than a year after the Ann Arbor City Council voted to sell a downtown property to a Chicago developer, the city and developer have finalized a purchase agreement. City Administrator Howard Lazarus announced at the City Council meeting Monday night, June 4, that the city and developer Core Spaces have signed a purchase agreement for the Library Lot, which is the parking lot atop the city's underground parking garage off Fifth Avenue next to the downtown library. The city intends to sell the lot to Core Spaces for $10 million to allow the developer to build a 17-story high-rise including a hotel, apartments, office/retail space and an outdoor plaza...
Quote:
Developer invites Ann Arborites to discuss 17-story high-rise plan
Ryan Stanton | MLive
June 07, 2018

ANN ARBOR, MI - A Chicago-based development team planning to build a 17-story high-rise and plaza along Fifth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor is inviting the public to give additional input. Core Spaces, which intends to purchase the city-owned Library Lot from Ann Arbor for $10 million, is asking community members to attend a neighborhood meeting from 5:30-7 p.m. June 20 at the downtown library's all-purpose room. Luke Bonner, a local consultant working with the developer, said the purpose of the meeting is to update the public on the project timeline and gain feedback. Anyone who's interested in learning more and giving input before the developer submits formal plans to the city for review and approval is welcome to attend...
     
     
  #11  
Old Posted Jun 11, 2018, 7:45 AM
LMich's Avatar
LMich LMich is offline
Midwest Moderator - Editor
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Big Mitten
Posts: 31,745
Man, I bet you that that public meeting is going to be a hot mess. But, Core Spaces knows what it's getting into with it, so...meh. I hope they don't give the NIMBYs too much time or space or we'll end up with a 4-story affordable housing building with 50-foot yard setbacks or something. lol
__________________
Where the trees are the right height
     
     
  #12  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2018, 3:53 AM
Fvn Fvn is offline
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 694
lol--
Ann Arbor approves ballot language for 'Center of the City' proposal
Quote:
The Ann Arbor City Council has approved ballot language for a citizen-initiated proposal for a downtown central park and civic center commons.

The council voted 11-0 Monday night, June 18, to approve putting the following question on the Nov. 6 ballot:

CHARTER AMENDMENT FOR THE CITY-OWNED PUBLIC LAND BOUNDED BY FIFTH AVENUE, AND WILLIAM, DIVISION AND LIBERTY STREETS TO BE DESIGNATED, IN PERPETUITY, AS AN URBAN PARK AND CIVIC CENTER COMMONS TO BE KNOWN AS THE "CENTER OF THE CITY," BY AMENDING THE ANN ARBOR CITY CHARTER ADDING A NEW SECTION 1.4 TO CHAPTER 1 OF THE CHARTER.
http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/...llot_lang.html
     
     
  #13  
Old Posted Jun 19, 2018, 11:27 AM
LMich's Avatar
LMich LMich is offline
Midwest Moderator - Editor
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Big Mitten
Posts: 31,745
Knowing Ann Arbor, I wouldn't bet against it passing. They say that it's questionable if it'll be enforceable, but it'd give them something else in court to argue.

Here's the thing, NIMBYs: Downtown Ann Arbor lost a chance to build a downtown "central park" decades ago. There are simply no parcels large enough for a legit grand-scaled park. You want a grand open-space near downtown? Go to the Diag where everyone goes for that kind of thing.

But, of course this isn't about parkland, it's about stopping this development.
__________________
Where the trees are the right height
     
     
  #14  
Old Posted Mar 27, 2019, 9:06 PM
Urbannizer's Avatar
Urbannizer Urbannizer is online now
Moderator
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: 360, St. Edwards
Posts: 12,346
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fvn View Post
lol--
Ann Arbor approves ballot language for 'Center of the City' proposal


http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/...llot_lang.html
Prop A passed..no chance of moving forward now.

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...k_proposa.html
__________________
HAIF
     
     
  #15  
Old Posted Mar 29, 2019, 12:06 PM
LMich's Avatar
LMich LMich is offline
Midwest Moderator - Editor
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Big Mitten
Posts: 31,745
Yes, this one for all intents and purposes is dead, as the city formally terminated their agreement with the developer in January. And, not only was the ballot question passed, but opponents of the project flipped enough seats on council that they basically control it, now.

But the developer hasn't cancelled the project, and vowed a vigorous court case against the city. So, I'm not sure what to do with this one.
__________________
Where the trees are the right height
     
     
End
 
 
 

Go Back   SkyscraperPage Forum > Discussion Forums > Buildings & Architecture > Never Built & Visionary Projects > Cancelled Project Threads Archive
Forum Jump


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:47 PM.

     
SkyscraperPage.com - Archive - Privacy Statement - Top

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.