Ypsilanti Citizen News ]]>

City Council approves all mayor's re-appointments
By Dan DuChene
Jun. 16, 2010   ·   3:42 a.m.

Jone Coleman, president of downtown business LookInTheAttic, shares his thoughts with City Council about the discussion and procedure taken to pass mayoral re-appointments, which he was being considered for the Downtown Development Authority.

After much procedure, Ypsilanti City Council approved six mayoral re-appointments to city boards and committees Tuesday, including the two postponed from earlier...read more

Council postpones two reappointments
By Mark Tower
Jun. 4, 2010   ·   4:57 p.m.

Two of Ypsilanti's volunteer board members were not reappointed on schedule Tuesday night, owing to a 4-2 vote by City Council to delay the appointments until...read more

Downtown properties to be rehabilitated
By Mark Tower
Jun. 4, 2010   ·   10:40 a.m.

The three properties located at 120, 122 and 124 West Michigan Avenue in downtown Ypsilanti will soon be rebuilt into commercial and office space and loft apartments, thanks to a planned $1.7 million investment by developers.

Three recently-vacated properties in downtown Ypsilanti, two of them condemned, will soon be renovated owing to recent purchase by a local development company and...read more

Ypsilanti Township authorizes litigation against Liberty Square
By Mark Tower
May. 28, 2010   ·   6:53 p.m.

Many of the homes in the Liberty Square complex on Grove Street in Ypsilanti Township are already boarded and ready for foreclosure sale. All 151 units, some of which are still occupied, will be condemned Tuesday, Ypsilanti Township has resolved.

Residents living in the Liberty Square complex of townhouses will see a sticker appear on their homes Tuesday, when the Ypsilanti Township Building Department places...read more

Ford plant granted tax exemption by township
By Mark Tower
May. 24, 2010   ·   5:44 p.m.

Ford Motor Company's Rawsonville Plan, located at the intersection of Textile and Bridge Roads in Ypsilanti Township, will soon be the new home for production of Ford's Electric Focus batteries, formerly produced in Mexico.

New machines and equipment will soon be wheeled into Ford's Rawsonville Plant in Ypsilanti Township as it begins manufacturing a line of batteries for the new global...read more

Beal works with city for Thompson Block plan

Exterior scaffolding supports the facade of the Thompson Block, all that remains of the building after a September fire gutted the former Civil War barracks. Photo by Citizen File

Exterior scaffolding supports the facade of the Thompson Block, all that remains of the building after a September fire gutted the former Civil War barracks.
Haabs

Ypsilanti City Council discussing building Tuesday

By Dan DuChene
Dec. 21, 2009    ·    9:51 a.m.


When the owner of the Thompson Block goes in front of City Council Tuesday morning, he will likely be presenting a plan approved by city staff.

The plan will allow two lanes of traffic both Cross and River streets, as well as allow pedestrian traffic across both roads and along the streets adjacent to the building.

Stewart Beal, who owns the 148-year-old former Civil War barracks in Depot Town, said he had just got out of a meeting with city staff Thursday afternoon and only had a few adjustments to make to the plan and would be re-submitting it before Tuesday’s special City Council meeting to discuss the issue.

City Manager Ed Koryzno confirmed Beal was working with staff to have an approved plan by Tuesday.

Tuesday’s special meeting follows City Council’s regular meeting, held last Tuesday, where the 90-day traffic control order allowing the closing of one lane of traffic and sidewalk adjacent to the building on both streets was up for renewal. City Council voted to postpone the 45-day extension to give city staff time to review the plan Beal submitted that night.

The discussion about the extension last Tuesday lasted more than two hours and became quite heated after the postponement was moved to the floor. Beal said he wouldn’t meet with city staff before tomorrow’s vote because he was afraid any work he did do would be without value if City Council eventually voted an extension down.

At the meeting, Beal also said the 15-day timeline to have work completed and traffic opened back up in Depot Town wouldn’t be guaranteed if City Council had voted for the postponement Tuesday.

However, by Thursday Beal said he had calmed down after the heated discussion, and went to work with staff right after the meeting. He said the postponement had been unexpected, and said he was upset at the time. However, he said he will still have work completed within 15 days.

City Council will meet to reconsider the extension at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, one day before the current traffic order expires and city staff goes on break until the new year.

The exterior scaffolding supporting the building since it was destroyed by a fire in September will still extend into public property, which will require Beal to ask for another extension in 45 days.

He said he will use that time to have engineers come up with a plan to permanently stabilize the building’s façade, as he said he was under the impression he couldn’t do any stabilization work from the interior until a week before Tuesday’s meeting because of the investigation into the cause of the fire.

Beal said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Neither Koryzno nor Beal could comment on the status of an abatement placed on the building by the Ypsilanti Fire Department for violation of fire code. A message was sent to Assistant City Attorney Karl Barr, but was not returned by press time.

Related Article:
fate of Thompson Block postponed



]]>
Roots Jamboree
The Rocket


© 2010 The Mojo News Group - Ypsilanti Citizen Home - About Ypsilanti Citizen - Contact Us - Advertising - Calendar - Archives - Terms of Use Citrus Stand Media Group Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional