More and more development pressure for new student housing in downtown Ann Arbor is mounting. The latest example is the City Place development, which hoped to bring more density to downtown. Unfortunately that won't be anytime soon after the City Council voted it down Monday.

The proposal called for a five-story brick-and-limestone apartment building on the east side of Fifth Avenue between William and Jefferson streets next to Blimpy Burger. It would house 164 bedrooms in 90 units. Those would go over one level of underground parking with enough space for 97 vehicles.

The team behind the development has communicated to city officials that it plans to incorporate environmentally friendly features and perhaps even go for LEED certification. However, what those features are and what, if any, LEED certification it would apply for is not publicly known.

Not so green is the developer, Fifth Avenue Limited Partnership, plan to raze seven historic homes on the 1.2-acre parcel to make way for the development. Those houses include one of the city's oldest surviving houses, circa 1838. The others are a mix of mid-to-late 19th Century and early 20th Century homes. They are now currently subdivided into student housing and appear to be in varying stages of disrepair.

The City Council turned down a similar-yet-bigger proposal from the developer last January.

Source: City of Ann Arbor
Writer: Jon Zemke