Housing Activists Keep Sights On Downtown Club
On Sunday February 9, over 100 community members and nine local government officials met to discuss homelessness and the need for low-income housing in Ann Arbor. The Homeless Action Committee (HAC) initiated the meeting in City Council Chambers by an early January letter to City Councilmembers, Washtenaw County Commissioners and the Downtown Development Authority. The letter requested discussions on the future of the Downtown Club and other low-income housing options.
The Downtown Club, located at 110 N. Fourth Ave., is a mostly-vacant office building. It housed low-income adults until its conversion to office space in 1983. lts prior owners went bankrupt last fall and the building became the property of First of America Bank on Dec. 13. The county bought it in January for office use, issuing $2,000,000 in public bonds.
Mayor Brater responded to the HAC letter with an offer to meet during the time scheduled for the joint caucus of City Council. HAC invited the county commissioners and anticipated their attendance, especially since they had just purchased the Downtown Club for office space.
Only one commissioner - Christina Montague - attended. Seven council members and the mayor were present. Mayor Brater carne with a pre-arranged meeting agenda that did not include any back-and-forth discussion. Her agenda called for a 20 minute presentation by the Housing Policy Board (a City Council housing advisory panel), followed by short talks by five advocacy or service-providing housing organizations. After that, there was time for "public participation" - as in the usual time for citizens to address City Council meetings. No time was allotted for council members or commissioners to address the issues or respond to concerns raised.
All who addressed the public officials expressed the need for more low-income housing. Bob Campbell of the Ann Arbor Area Housing Coalition suggested that the Ann Arbor Inn be converted and rehabilitated for residential and commercial use. Carol McCabe of the Ann Arbor Shelter Association said that the only solution to homelessness is the creation of permanent low-income housing. Representatives of Unity, the alliance of public housing tenants, accused city officials of promoting policies aimed at squeezing poor and Black people out of Ann Arbor and endorsed the proposal to convert the Downtown Club into low-income housing.
HAC members explained the economics that prevent low-income persons from finding affordable housing as such: for a single person working full time at $5 an hour, "affordable" rent (defined by the U.S . government as 30% of income) is $250 per month. This is nearly impossible to find in Ann Arbor, which explains why there are Shelter residents with full-time jobs.
During the "Public Participation" time on the agenda, a number of homeless people vented their frustration at being unable to find a place to live. Other residents expressed disgust at the meeting's format. County Commissioner Montague at one point addressed the crowd, and admitted that the county is not doing enough about homelessness. Montague said she attempted to revoke her vote to issue bonds to buy the Downtown Club, but could not do so.
The meeting ended with affordable housing advocates convinced that dialogue would not take place. County and city officials are presenting the county's plan for the Downtown Club as a "done deal." HAC disputes this, arguing that the taxpayers will have the last word. It took HAC members nearly three years to undo another "done deal," a multimillion dollar parking structure on the lot behind Kline's store. Even The Ann Arbor News recently acknowledged that HAC is, if nothing else, "persistent."
The Downtown Club has been the focus of a concerted HAC campaign throughout last fall and this winter, involving picketing and three sit-ins. Nineteen protesters have been arrested in the building for trespassing.
HAC argues that conversion of existing structures for housing is cheaper than new construction. The Downtown Club and the Ann Arbor Inn are existing downtown buildings where such conversión is feasible. The county, however, bought the Downtown Club for offices because it is directly across the street from the County Courthouse. When a HAC member suggested to County Commission Chair Meri Lou Murray that the county investigate other available office space within two blocks, Murray said that two blocks is too far to walk. The county estimates that it would take just over half a million dollars to convert the Downtown Club to housing. The county cites this as an obstacle to conversion, yet is planning to spend $2 million to use the building for office space. In these hard times, HAC argues, the priorities of local government must be more sympathetic to the needs of the people of the community.
Phillis Engelbert is a member of the Homeless Action Committee and an AGENDA staffer. The Homeless Action Committee meets every Thursday at 5:30 pm at Guild House, 802 Monroe.