Quote:
Originally Posted by LMich
What's the drama behind Parkway? Knowing Michigan, I wouldn't be surprised if you tell me that neighbors were made that it's too many houses per acre or something. lol
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It's a long story. One that predates my time in the City and one that I'm still learning about. I've actually been thinking about doing an extended post on it in the near future once I research it some more, because those sorts of things are interesting to me / us.
The short-ish version is that WMU once owned a bunch of open, natural land, (called The Aboretum), which was a natural buffer to the sprawling development happening on the west side, and which worked just fine for Arcadia residents. Then WMU got the idea to start selling it off piecemeal to various developers and the city. A new Middle School was built, several other development proposals fell through. There were debates about the sale of the land, then debates about the subsequent construction of the new road (Aboretum Parkway) and reconstruction of Howard, local traffic congestion concerns, open / recreational space concerns, density / number of units and parking worries, rezoning fights, etc. Throw a new West Side master plan into the works (one that many felt didn't represent their interests or the final development results), and you have a bit of chaos.
Some residents claim that the approved master plan never anticipated this amount of density, and it was effectively shoved down their throats. But the City's position when it approved these current apartments was that far worse uses could have occurred there (i.e. big box), and that there is a large need for this type of housing in the city, and, oh yeah, that the added taxes don't hurt either.
The whole area is burgeoning with new construction now. AVB's Walden Woods Condo development (itself riddled with controversy) is just a stone's throw east of these Parkway flats, and is on Phase 2 or 3 now. I'm remaining neutral on it all until I understand the issues better.
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