Ann Arbor Project stresses 'green' buildings ideas
Friday, July 21, 2006
Ann Arbor project limits parking, stresses 'green' building ideas - by Jennette Smith (Crain's Detroit Business)
Buyers at the Kingsley Lane loft project in Ann ARbor don't get an automatic parking pass for underground parking on site.
In fact, the developers are encouraging buyers to bike, walk or park cars in a deck down the street if they wish because underground parking is sold separately - and is only available for about half of the buyers at the 50-unit project.
Kingsley lane developers Peter Allen and Mark Berg expect to begin construction on the residential project in August. The project applies green building concepts from top to bottom to the site at Kingsley and Ashely streets in the northern part of downtown Ann Arbor.
The project is planned with light-gauge steel construction supported with cement, low-emitting paints, bamboo and cork floors and highly energy efficient windows and appliances.
Berg and Allen are including smaller, more affordably priced units in the mix for the project. Prices run from $220,000 to $600,000, with half of the lofts under $300,000. The units are 425 square feet to more than 1,400 square feet.
"By making these a bit smaller, the overall cost point (of using green building techniques) is not out of line," Berg said. "Buyers are willing to pay for that."
Buyers will have options to live an "Ikea-style" lifestyle with space-conscious cabinetry that has, for example, a kitchen island that doubles as a table.
But Allen said the lifestyle change of encouraging more walking is a larger issue for the enviornment than some of the green construction materials.
"In suburbia you have to drive to everything," he said. "This kind of housing ... you begin to use a bike, get closer to your job, culture and dining."
Kingsley Lane is giving away tennis shoes and bikes to home buyers as part of its marketing efforts. In addition, buyers receive a two-year lease at the nearby Ann Ashley parking deck to store their car. For those who want to pay for the on-sire parking, that is available for $25,000. The project has 25 underground parking spaces.
The plan "decouples the price of the parking from the price of the unit," Berg said. That contrasts to most high-rise loft projects, where the high cost of building underground parking can add $40,000 to $50,000 to every unit, he said.
Allen and Berg have 13 reservations so far. THey plan to begin construction once they have 50 percent of the units sold. The Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors reports that May condominium sales in the city limits were steady, with sold listings on the market for about 90 days and an average sales price of $206,316.
Neal Warling, CEO of ANn Arbor-based Bluestone Realty Advisors, said Kingsley Lane matches with what the city has pushed for: smaller, more affordable units.
"Ann Arbor is a very environmentally conscious community," he said. "I think this sort of building should be well-received."
THe parking solution is a new idea, and the project should be appealing to "a core of software developers and entrepreneurial companies who want to be close to downtown," Warling said.
Kingsley Lane will include retail and office space in addition to the loft units, when a historic building renovated for the model and sales office is made available for lease. The four-story Kingsley Lane West building will include 15 lofts and five penthouses. Kingsley Lane East is a ninestory tower with th ebalance of the units. The historic building, a former butcher shop at 111 W. Kingsley, is 3,000 square feet.
Allen said the project will apply Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design concepts as outlined by the U.S. Green BUilding Council, but the partners are still deciding if they will seek formal certification. The LEED rating provides third-party verification of green features.
Guy Bazzani, a green developer in Grand Rapids, said he expects the green-building trend to spread to more Michigan residential projects. West Michigan was ahead of the curve on green building, primarily because companies such as Herman Miller and Steelcase pushed the issue. Michigan has more commercial or educational LEED projects than residential so far.
"It's healthier for the occupants. ... We have cut our energy costs in half in our buildings," said Bazzani, owner of Bazzani Associates Inc. who lives in a LEED-certified histroic building.
Developments in more desnely populated downtowns, such as Ann Arbor, also lend themselves to less parking and more walking, Bazzani said. Devlopers and communities should do as much as they can to encourage such projects, he said.
The contractor on Kingsley Lane is J.C. Beal, and the residential brokerage handling sales is Charles Reinhart Co.
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