Demand for flexible, high-quality downtown housing is creating more options for potential residents. The latest proposal is The Madison, a 14-story apartment building across from Fingerle Lumber Co. on the city center's southern border.
The project would replace seven old single family houses converted into student ghetto housing and an old industrial building on the north side of Madison Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. The new building would feature 161 rental apartments, ranging in size from one to four bedrooms.
The idea is to provide housing for young professionals (think Generation X and Y) and others looking for an affordable place to live near downtown, providing the type of dynamic rental market that other cities thrive on to attract and retain young talent.
"The top priority needs to be the attraction and retention of talent," says Jeff Helminski, developer of The Madison. "Our cities are not good at that. The Chicagos and Minneapolises do a much better job of it."
They do so because they provide a variety of housing options, especially in their city centers, that cater to different lifestyles. People who want to live in an urban area in southeast Michigan usually can only do so by buying an expensive condo with multiple parking spaces or becoming an urban pioneer.
The Madison hopes to provide renting options to people who want to live the urban lifestyle in a walkable, cosmopolitan area like Ann Arbor. But doing so is not easy in Michigan where most residents are chained to their car as the only means of dependable transportation.
Helminski is juggling this by putting a parking space for each unit on the building's first two stories. He is also looking into getting a Zipcar at the building and even giving bus passes to residents. He chose a walkable location close to downtown so those who want to live without a car can do so twithout breaking the bank on rental fees.
The Madison is also looking to earn LEED certification, but hasn't determined the level yet. Among the green options Helminski is looking to incorporate are a green roof and recycling construction waste.
Prices for the rentals haven't been determined yet, but Helminski is planning to make 15 percent of the units affordable housing. He vows that "the goal is to keep it affordable," to keep it viable for his target audience.
Helminski and his team are still working with city officials to get approval for the structure. If it's approved, Helminski expects construction to begin next spring and be done within two years.
This is the latest high-rise of rental units proposed for Ann Arbor's downtown area. The Ann Arbor City Apartments is planned for the west side of downtown and a number of other student housing towers are either under construction or being considered near the University of Michigan campus.
Source: Jeff Helminski, developer of The Madison
Writer: Jon Zemke
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