U-M promotes car sharing - Ann Arbor News
U-M promotes car sharing
Officials hope service will reduce campus traffic and congestion
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
BY DAVE GERSHMAN
News Staff Reporter
The University of Michigan wants to bring car sharing to campus in time for next fall, hoping to sign a deal with a national company like Zipcar, Inc.
Details are still up in the air, but the idea is to make car sharing, a trend on some campuses and major cities, another transportation option for professors, staff and students 21 and older.
Companies like Zipcar rent cars by the hour to members, who make arrangements over the Internet and use a credit card-like key to pick up the car from a designated parking lot. Gas is covered by the company and drivers don't need their own basic insurance. When they're done, they leave the car in the same spot they found it.
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"What we're thinking of right now is to start small and have six vehicles on campus, two on North Campus, two on Central Campus and two on the medical campus,'' said Dave Miller, executive director for parking and transportation services.
U-M has issued a request-for-proposals and bids are due later this month. U-M officials have talked to representatives of Zipcar, Inc. The company, based in Cambridge, Mass., declined comment on U-M's plans.
Car sharing would be attractive to people who'd rather not drive to campus, Miller said, but feel they need to drive because they might need quick access to car - such as the staff member who has to dash across the city for a lunchtime meeting. Some students bring cars to Ann Arbor but only use them to get away on weekends, he said.
Car sharing would take some vehicles off the city's roadways, Miller said. The service is part of U-M's attempt to discourage students from bringing cars to campus and to encourage more employees to commute by bus or carpool, he said.
Sarah Hines is a graduate student who's excited by the idea. She had a car "on and off'' during the past academic year. She shared it with her brother in Chicago. She usually rode her bike to get around Ann Arbor, but there are times when a car would have been useful to pick up lots of groceries or pick up friends at the airport.
"So many people I know of here have cars,'' she said, "but it's mostly for the occasional convenience factor.''
Depending on responses to the RFP, members of the general public might be able to use the car sharing service, Miller said.
While a car sharing service could operate without going through the university, this way U-M will provide dedicated spaces for the cars on campus and it's willing to guarantee a minimum amount of revenue for the company during a start-up period, said Miller.
"Our intention is that after a period of time, four or six months, they'll reach a revenue threshold where (the service) is sustainable. But we're willing to step up and bridge that gap between their minimum revenue requirement and the revenue they will generate from usage,'' Miller said.
Companies like Zipcar and Flexcar, another national company, require users to pay membership fees and rental fees.
Kingsley Lane featued in Business Review
Kingsley Lane condo project tailored to Ann Arbor buyer
BY PAULA GARDNER
pgardner@mbizreview.comSales for downtown Ann Arbor's latest condominium development launch May 20 when the model for Kingsley Lane opens to the public.
That's when buyers will get a chance to own units in a project designed to make the most of Ann Arbor's walkability.
To prove it, the developers have made on-site parking an option, and plan to give buyers a bike, walking shoes and a two-year pass to a public parking structure (Business Review, Dec. 1-7, 2005).
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Those sizes, said co-developer Peter Allen, fill a void in the downtown condo market.
To accomplish the mix, Allen and Berg will build a nine-story tower connected to a smaller building that has a lower level with residential condos also zoned for office and retail uses. A historic building that Berg has owned for decades has been incorporated into the design and it houses the model.
Market-rate starts at about $220,000 for the smallest units, climbing to $500,000-plus for larger styles and penthouses.
Thanks to the developers working out ways to keep workforce housing on-site, six are priced at $81,200 and come with restrictions that keep them permanently affordable for people who meet income guidelines.
The model shows much of the flexibility of the units. It looks like a modern urban loft, with bamboo floors, stone counters, a moveable kitchen island and options that highlight the flexibility of the space. Among them: Opaque, recessed glass panels that can add the privacy of a traditional room or slide back into the wall as needed.
The open, flexible spaces will be a huge selling point, said listing agent Lisa Stelter of the Charles Reinhart Co.
"You can individualize them," Stelter said of the condos, through options like building a Murphy bed into the wall.
Even making parking an option should be an asset to the development, the developers said. Twenty-six below-grade spaces will be built under the two buildings, and buyers of the larger units will get the option on the spaces.
People who work in town and use alternative transportation will be a natural target group for the units without parking.
But to convince others that a vehicle doesn't need to dominate a housing decision, Allen has put stickers on sidewalks around town that outline just how walkable Kingsley Lane can be. A recent trip to the site showed how it's faster to walk the 220 steps to Kerrytown than to drive and park.
Ann Arbor can obsess about parking downtown, but that isn't necessary, Allen said.
"Think about apartments around town," Allen said. "You have some with uncovered parking, some with carports and some with garages, and they're all useful."
Susan Pollay, director of the Downtown Development Authority, said that downtown residents seem less concerned with parking issues than others involved in city development issues.
Pollay said that's a sign that selling condos without on-site parking could work. She added that the range of unit sizes at Kingsley Lane also brings a necessary component to the downtown housing mix. "It really provides something that's not in the marketplace right now," Pollay said.
The project will end up valued at about $19 million, Allen said, representing sale prices of about $320 per square foot for the 50,000 square foot development.
Eight reservations have been active over the last two years during the project's reorganization. New sales require a 10-percent deposit, with the target of half of the units sold by July.
Occupancy should take place by the end of 2007.
JC Beal Construction of Ann Arbor will build the condos, which were designed by a team from Marc Rueter Associates Architects: Marc Rueter, Jim Scrivens, Karen Kortesoja and Geoff Harker. Marketing is by The Kirkwood Group.
Paula Gardner can be contacted at (734) 302-1715 or pgardner@mbizreview.com.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
In Brief -
Kingsley Lane, a new mixed-use, loft-style retail development, will host a public grand opening of a furnished model unit and sales center on Saturday, May 20. Developer Peter Allen of Peter Allen & Associates plans to break ground in August on the project, which will include condominiums in four-story and nine-story buildings at the corner of Kingsley and Ashley streets in northwest downtown. The 60,000-square-foot development will also include retail and office space.
Developers are planning only limited parking and are considering offering up to 51 condominium units but only 28 parking spots on site.
To highlight the goal of reducing the need for an automobile, each owner will get a bicycle and walking shoes. If buyers want a parking space, they will be able to purchase one on site or at a nearby parking structure.
