Stop Construction Of S. University 18-Story Building

Stop Construction Of S. University 18-Story building

A building permit for the construction of an 18-story apartment house at the corner of S. University and Forest Ave. has been withdrawn by the city's Building and Safety Engineering Department.

Reason given for the withdrawal of the permit was that developers were not conforming to requirements of the State Housing Law regarding sideyard setbacks.

The building permit was revoked after a newly formed citizens' committee, the Ann Arbor Property Owners Association, protested the construction of the building. The group met with city attorneys and the Building and Safety Engineering Department and had promised “further action.” possibly a court injunction, if the permit was not revoked.

John Gunn, president of the homeowners association, said his group will “continue to confer to assure that the proposed Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. high-rise building . . . will meet the letter of the Ann Arbor zoning chapter and the housing law of the state of Michigan.”

Gunn said the proposed building “would have a 20-foot-wide court whereas the state housing law requires a court of at least 35 feet.”

Much groundwork has already been done at the site of the proposed high-rise, apartment-commercial building which has been a matter of controversy since plans were made public.

Original opposition came from citizens and students who protested the construction of the building without the provision of off-street parking facilities. Developers, after the controversy over parking arose, asked the City Council to grant it permission to erect a carport over the existing municipal parking lot on S. Forest Ave.

Listed as co-developers of the 18-story structure and as the groups asking for the new parking structure are Towne Realty, Inc., of Milwaukee, Wis., and R. E. Weaver Co. of Ann Arbor.