DDA | On a Mission to Strengthen Downtown Ann Arbor

Project Summary
Process Overview
Outreach & Opportunities for Engagement
Project Information and LOC Meeting Materials

Project Summary:

“Connecting William Street” is a district planning process dedicated to crafting and implementing strategies to transform five city-owned parking areas into uses that will better serve the community: the Library Lot, the Old Y Lot, the ground floor of the 4th & William Parking Structure, the Palio Lot, and the Kline Lot in downtown Ann Arbor.

At the authorization of the Ann Arbor City Council, the DDA is leading the project, taking an innovative approach to both process and outreach. Through earlier downtown planning efforts, the community provided broad guidance (shaping City policy through projects such as A2D2 , the Downtown Plan, and the Calthorpe Report). Connecting William Street will build on these efforts, resulting in development priorities for these five City-owned parcels.

The DDA Partnerships/Economic Development Committee is overseeing the Connecting William Street planning process and has established a Leadership and Outreach Committee (LOC) made up of downtown residents, employees, business owners, and representatives from the City and DDA to guide the process.

Process Overview:
The DDA's work will be a continuation of City planning to date, building on the vision and goals established by the community for downtown.
Leadership & Outreach Steering Committee:
To help engage the community, the Partnerships Committee has established a Leadership and Outreach Committee made up of residents, business owners, and downtown employees, as well as DDA, City Council, and Planning Commission representatives. This group is a vital sounding board and leadership that will work directly with DDA and City staff to help shape the process, gather input, and make a final recommendation to the DDA. The DDA Board will then make a recommendation to City Council. All committee meetings are open to the public, the next meeting will be scheduled for September 2012.

To learn more about members of the Leadership & Outreach Committee, click here: LOC Member Bios

The Connecting William Street process is anticipated to consist of three phases:

Phase 1: Common Knowledge - Compile information about the planning area & goals from foundation documents
Phase 2: Identifying Opportunities - Identify opportunities to use these parcels to meet community goals into the future
Phase 3:The Emerging Framework Plan - Use technical and outreach input to draft framework plans and refine a final plan, with feedback from the public, that will be presented to City Council for approval

Final outcome:
The process will include developing a clear understanding of what’s been planned to date, identification of ways we can increase connectivity, and a distillation of community expectations for the future use of these properties.
The process will result in three final products:

A strategic framework plan (a user-friendly document that uses both text and visuals to illustrate City Council planning to date as well as those elements identified through the A2P5 planning process – economic analysis, connectivity enhancements, and community feedback regarding fulfilling established goals).
Redevelopment evaluation criteria (criteria that further defines the goals, needs, and vision for this area of downtown and that establishes a measurable tool for decision-making)
Alternative scenarios for how future development could be realized (RFP, RFQ, land sale, land lease, etc)

Outreach and Opportunities for Engagement:
The LOC has helped shape a creative outreach process to engage a broad diversity of voices, including residents, employees, visitors, non-profit and advocacy organizations, business owners, and public agencies. The committee approved an Outreach and Communications Plan at their Janury 2011 meeting, which includes approaches such as an electronic survey, webinar, and public speaker series.

To view the Outreach and Communications Plan, Click here: Outreach Plan

Current Public Engagement Opportunities:
Public Feedback Events & Webinars
We've heard from many dozens of groups, and thousands of individuals, and we are very grateful for all the input we've received. The project's Leadership and Outreach Committee has worked to distill all this feedback into a series of recommended development strategies for these sites. Join us at one of the meetings listed below to view the draft recommendations and let us know what you think. Both meetings will follow an open house format with a brief presentation at 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday, December 19th, 6-8pm at the Downtown Ann Arbor District Library Multi-purpose Room, 343 S. Fifth Ave
Thursday, January 3rd, 6-8pm at the Ann Arbor DDA Office, 150 S. Fifth Avenue, 3rd floor

Great Places Series
In partnership with Concentrate Magazine, the DDA hosted a "Great Places" Speaker Series to explore best practices for creating a vibrant downtown along with the community. The topics ranged from economic development to open space and the planning process. Each event drew about 100 attendees and a great community discussion. If you weren't able to attend, view the videos below.

Click below to view videos of the speaker events:

The Complete Downtown Experience - featuring Dan Gilmartin Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League. Recorded on March 29th at Conor O'Neill's Celtic Room.

Creating Great Public Spaces - featuring Kirk Westphal of Westphal Associates, Amy Kuras of the City of Ann Arbor Parks Department, and Bob Gregory of the Detroit 300 Conservancy. Recorded on April 19th at Conor O'Neill's Celtic Room.

Building A Competitive Downtown - featuring Todd Poole of 4ward Planning and a panel of downtown business leaders. Recorded on May 17th at Conor O'Neill's Celtic Room.

Downtown Development & Our Cultural Institutions-featuring Melanie Piana of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance and a panel of cultural institution leaders. Recorded on August 9th at Conor O'Neills Celtic Room.

Public engagement materials:
Public presentation shown at 8/28 & 9/10 meetings (pdf, with notes that can be toggled on and off)

Meeting presentation boards
Scenario overviews by site (pdf)

Public webinar recordings:
Video, webinar 8/29

Video, webinar 9/05

Video, webinar 10/11

If you'd like to be added to the outreach email list or have questions/comments about the project, please email: amiller@a2dda.org

Project Information and Leadership and Outreach Meeting Materials

Project Timeline (Updated Dec 2011):