ANN ARBOR, MI - An advisory board plans to recommend next week that the Ann Arbor City Council stick with its original plan and use the former YMCA site downtown to locate 100 units of low-income housing. "Everything points to downtown," said Edward Staebler, one 10 community members serving on the Housing and Human Services Advisory Board. Everything except the cost. Construction downtown would be 30 to 50 percent more expensive than in other parts of the city, board members estimate.
Still, advantages outweigh that initial cost, said Staebler, chairman of the group and a graduate of the London School of Economics who works for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Those advantages include access to services, the fact that the city already owns the property, and the downtown's capacity to absorb a special-needs population, Staebler said.
The 100-unit target represents the number of single rooms formerly provided by the YMCA. The Y operated a dorm adjacent to its recreation facilities before moving to a new facility. Although that housing was shut down in late 2006, social-service agencies and others working to address homelessness say replacing the housing is critical. The Housing and Human Services Advisory Board memo says, for example, that wait lists for housing provided organizations including Avalon Housing and the Ann Arbor Housing Commission have grown since the former Y dorm closed.
City officials paid $3.5 million for the property in late 200 to ensure that the low-income housing would be replaced. A developer was selected to raze the old building and construct a facility that would include low-income, supported housing along with market-rate properties. However, after several years of preliminary work, the City Council terminated an agreement with the developer, citing dissatisfaction with delays.
A contractor hired by the Downtown Development Authority is now completing demolition. City officials expect to put a temporary parking lot on the site and use it as a staging area for planned construction of an underground parking deck nearby on Fifth Avenue. In the meantime, City Council members asked the Housing and Human Services Advisory Board to take a fresh look at whether Fifth and William was really the best place for replacement low-income housing. After 12 weeks of study, the conclusion is clear, said Staebler. "No one's saying to the council that it's the only site, but downtown is consistent with community values."
A downtown site would allow for a tower, desirable from a security point of view, he said. The Fifth and William property is also suitable for building on-site services, like social work and counseling, into the development. The planned housing is intended to serve very low-income single-adults, the homeless and those who have the greatest difficulty maintaining stable housing.
To serve that special-needs population, monthly rents would be $200-$250 a month, said Jennifer Hall, housing manager for the city-county community development department. That means both the construction and ongoing operation of the residence would have to be subsidized. "There certainly are alternate locations," said Staebler. "And if the city hits more roadblocks downtown, the City Council shouldn't wait.
The draft version of the recommendations includes two alternatives to a downtown location, identifying the pros and cons of each. City Council Member Stephen Rapundalo said those alternatives are welcome as they give city officials some flexibility. And he sounded a caution on the Y site. "I think there has to be a recognition that one site might be prefered by many, but circumstances may dictate multiple site or that we do what we can, when we can," said Rapundalo, one of two council members serving on the advisory board.
Source: Mlive.com