This story originally ran:
9/23/2009
Where to put the dirt? It's a question that's starting to vex downtown Ann Arbor officials as they prep to begin digging one big hole in the ground.
The hole is for the Library Lot underground parking deck next to the Ann Arbor District Library. The city has started on some of the work to build a 677-car parking garage underneath a surface parking lot next on Fourth Street and replacing some of the surrounding infrastructure, such as sewer and water lines.
But the big hole for all of those cars is coming later this year. That means an acre of earth four stories deep has to go somewhere.
"We're talking about a mountain of dirt," says Susan Pollay, executive director of Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority.
That dirt is a combination of sand and gravel that comes free of pollutants. A little of it will be mixed into the concrete for the parking deck, but there will still be many, many tons that need a home sooner rather than later.
The Ann Arbor Airport was a possible location in need of dirt. The expansion project there left a big hole in the ground, but Pollay says the airport wants to use it as a water retention pond. The city's park system was another candidate, but Pollay says the Parks Department claims they don't need much, if any, dirt in the near term, despite the landscaping work slated for West Park.
"We're back to square one," Pollay says, adding that city officials wants to keep the dirt closer to home to make the project more sustainable.
The parking deck is one of the most ambitious projects in the downtown. Most parking garages in the city's center have been built entirely above ground with the occasional parking deck that has an underground floor or two above several floors of parking above grade.
This parking deck is expected to open up space for development above it. Ideas that have been floated include a convention center, hotel, green space or combination of those and more.
Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority
Writer: Jon Zemke
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