20 downtown Ann Arbor Developments..crazy!!! (Detroit, Grand Rapids: best cities, 2015, apartments)

[Republic of Michigan]

20 developments to watch around downtown Ann Arbor | MLive.com

[chh]

Wow, that's crazy! Good to see how good things are going there

[westernwilly]

Ann Arbor is the jewel of Michigan as well as one the best cities in the country.
It does not surprise me to see that there are several downtown developments in the works there. However, 20 is very impressive and that does surprise me!

Keep it going AA.

[Republic of Michigan]

Originally Posted by westernwilly

Ann Arbor is the jewel of Michigan as well as one the best cities in the country.
It does not surprise me to see that there are several downtown developments in the works there. However, 20 is very impressive and that does surprise me!

Keep it going AA.

Ann Arbor is nice. But I think that Grand Rapids, Traverse City, or Marquette would earn the title of "The Jewel of Michigan" before Ann Arbor. (But can definitely understand how another person might say it's Ann Arbor)

What do you think about the height restrictions city council put in place? They seem to want to prevent high rises being built. I'm not sure where I fall on this issue.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Republic of Michigan

Ann Arbor is nice. But I think that Grand Rapids, Traverse City, or Marquette would earn the title of "The Jewel of Michigan" before Ann Arbor. (But can definitely understand how another person might say it's Ann Arbor)

What do you think about the height restrictions city council put in place? They seem to want to prevent high rises being built. I'm not sure where I fall on this issue.

Many long-time Ann Arborites don't like having high-rises next to the historic single-family homes.

The currently under construction Foundry Lofts exemplify the worst case scenario.



Aside from that, many older Ann Arborites just don't like the rapid population growth; the congestion, the rise in rents and housing prices; demolition of older homes for new highrises. Basically all the issues that come with rapidly changing cities. In Detroit, those who found the new inner-city too crowded often moved farther out if they could. Though in Ann Arbor, people also seem anti-sprawl which isn't avoidable if Ann Arbor is to grow.

By the way, Washtenaw County as a whole is experiencing rapid growth. Not only is Ann Arbor seeing numerous development, but quite a few nearby townships and smaller cities are see hundreds of new homes being built. In all of Washtenaw County, there's currently 3,400 homes, apartments, or condos under construction, in addition to numerous new hotels and small shopper centers. It won't take long for the County to top 400,000 residents (possibly topping Genesee County (Flint) as the 5th most populous county in Michigan right behind Kent County (Grand Rapids)).

See the database of development projects in Washtenaw County | MLive.com

[karen_in_nh_2012]

I lived in Ann Arbor from '93 to '02, first in grad school and then teaching for my department. I loved living there for grad school but always knew it was temporary (departments virtually never hire their own grads for tenure-track positions) so didn't allow myself to get TOO attached.

I suspect I would not recognize the place today.

Every once in a while I think about retiring to Ann Arbor, more for the intellectual environment than anything else. Then I come to my senses.

(FANTASTIC place to go to grad school of course ... just not sure it would be a fantastic place to retire, given how expensive it seems to be becoming!)

[Giesela]

I get the impression that A2 picked up a lot of Detroit flight of one type or another. As Detroit and other places where sinking A2 was growing. I think its sad. We just keep ruining place after place instead of fixing what's wrong. Then that place gets ruined and everyone runs to the next place. Leaving behind acres of old toxic stuff.

[animatedmartian]

Originally Posted by Giesela

I get the impression that A2 picked up a lot of Detroit flight of one type or another. As Detroit and other places where sinking A2 was growing. I think its sad. We just keep ruining place after place instead of fixing what's wrong. Then that place gets ruined and everyone runs to the next place. Leaving behind acres of old toxic stuff.

Not really. Technically, the only flight from Detroit was UofM like 100-something years ago. After that, most of the investment and reason for Ann Arbor's growth has been more or less directly connected to the college.

Had UofM stayed in Detroit, then Ann Arbor would have likely just been another small town out in the sticks and Detroit would have likely had a much more stable downtown area.

These days, the only people who make the move from Metro Detroit to Ann Arbor are mostly college students, but even then they eventually move back to Metro Detroit.

[chh]

Originally Posted by Giesela

I get the impression that A2 picked up a lot of Detroit flight of one type or another. As Detroit and other places where sinking A2 was growing. I think its sad. We just keep ruining place after place instead of fixing what's wrong. Then that place gets ruined and everyone runs to the next place. Leaving behind acres of old toxic stuff.

I don't understand, how are we ruining AA? And by AA picking up Detroit flight, what do you mean? Most people moving out of Detroit moved to Oakland/Macomb counties, or out of the metro area entirely. Poor people from Detroit can't even afford to live in Ypsi now. An influx of new people hasn't ruined any cities yet, why would it ruin AA?

[jackmccullough]

I lived in Ann Arbor when I was in law school, 1976-79, and I probably haven't been back there since 1982. I'm getting the sense that I would have a hard time recognizing it, but I'll be back there for a few days in the fall and I'm looking forward to it.