U-M biz students pitch game-changing projects for Ann Arbor

If you want to see all that the city of Ann Arbor can be, don’t go to city hall. Go the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

There local developer Peter Allen,
who is also an adjunct member of the university’s faculty, challenged
his students to come up with plans for three of the city’s most
critical development areas – the Library Lot, Fuller Street Transit
Station and Huron Riverfront. They came up with about half a dozen
plans (realistic ones with real numbers) that can serve as the basis
for further development in Ann Arbor.

“I have three more classes
and many teams this semester that will be following up in more detail,”
Allen wrote in an email. “We just really scratched the surface.”

The winning three plans can be seen here.
They don’t have all of the professional flourish developers presenting
to the city have, but they are creative enough to drive this city full
of NIMBYs crazy. Think innovative uses, modern design (mostly), no
height limits and very urban design.

The Library Lot is what to
build above the underground garage the Ann Arbor DDA is building next
to the downtown library branch. The Fuller Street Transit Station is
the intermodal transportation station proposed for just north of the
University of Michigan Hospital. The Huron Riverfront is the
Amtrak/MichCon brownfield property just north of the Broadway Bridge.

Source: Peter Allen, president of Peter Allen & Associates
Writer: Jon Zemke
News from Concentrate