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ANN ARBOR, MI — It’s been over five years since the Ann Arbor City Council approved plans from Auburn Hills-based Trowbridge Companies to build 22 condos at 700 N. Main St., setting a maximum height limit of 33 feet.
The vision for the so-called Near North project on the long-vacant site has since changed.
Now, plans call for 64 one-bedroom apartments in a building rising six stories, with a maximum height of 75 feet.
City Council voted unanimously Monday night, July 20, to approve the rezoning and area plan for it.
It’s advantageous as it swaps high-end housing for more accessible housing, said Council Member Lisa Disch, D-1st Ward.
Whereas million-dollar condos could have been built before, Disch said, now there are considerably more housing units she expects will be more affordable at 480 to 800 square feet.
“I’m excited by this change,” Mayor Christopher Taylor said. “Obviously, we are looking for more housing and at lower price points and this rezoning will help effect that.”
Disch and Taylor said they’ve heard feedback from the North Central Neighborhood Association, which includes the area.
“They welcome the project, but they have expressed a concern that the rezoning sets a precedent for other developers to receive permission for 75-foot-tall buildings,” Disch said.
Disch said that shouldn’t be a concern because council’s rezoning decision is not precedent-setting.
“Just because we do this one, we do not need to do more,” she said.
Taylor said he has heard from the association a 75-foot height limit might be OK at this site, but would not be contextually appropriate for other properties deeper into the neighborhood.
“And I totally see that,” he said.
The site is located in an area where the city has extended the Downtown Development Authority boundaries north of what has traditionally been considered downtown and where the city plans to roll out higher-density zoning as part of its new land-use plan.
It’s in a walkable location in close proximity to parks, grocery stores, bus service, restaurants and many other services, Disch said.
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