Though history hasn't always been kind to progressive development in Ann Arbor, there's a real chance that the south side of downtown will evolve into a denser, more vibrant area now that two significant projects are moving toward approval.

First, a deal appears possible for the City Place development. The developer, Alex de Parry, has resubmitted plans that preserve the original houses and build dense housing behind them. The new development is called Heritage Row and is planned for Fifth Avenue just north of Packard Street.

The new plans call for 44 1- and 2-bedroom apartments that will feature 163 beds and 60 underground parking spaces. The original houses, including one of the oldest in the city, will be restored and have three apartment buildings behind them in a layout that is reminiscent of the Chicago- or C-style apartment buildings of the early 20th Century.

Also making its way through the approval process is the Moravian development on the north side of Madison Street across from Fingerlee Lumber. The development recently received near-unanimous approval  from the Planning Commission and is heading to City Council next in April.

"It's a big step forward," says Jeff Helminski, the developer behind the Moravian.

The Moravian features 4-5 stories (depending on which end of building you start at) with 62 apartments and 160 bedrooms. The developer* hopes to include geothermal heating system and go for LEED certification. Affordable housing units, about 19 percent of the units, will also be part of the mix.

A level of ground-floor parking (90 spaces) behind 3-6 units of ground floor commercial on Madison is also proposed. The ground floor retail units will be connected to residential units above figuratively but not physically because the ground floor area is in a flood plain. The retail spaces will measure between 600-1,500 square feet and will be available for the likes of professional offices (architects, attorneys, etc) or even art galleries.

Source: Jeff Helminski, developer of the Moravian
Writer: Jon Zemke

*Full disclosure: Former Concentrate publisher Newcombe Clark is one of the partners on the Moravian development project.