Category Archives: Architecture

My thoughts on International Village

Yesterday, someone on Twitter called me out for being silent on the subject of International Village, the $350+ million dollar retail and housing development being proposed for Ypsilanti’s 36-acre Water Street property. According to this person, who was posting under a pseudonym, my silence on the matter was “deafening.” It’s something I’ve heard several times […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Corporate Crime, Economics, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 62 Comments

The rehab of 209 Pearl is finally getting underway

As it’s been a while, I thought that I should give you an update on the renovation of 209 Pearl Street. Since my last post, things have changed a bit. Most notably, we’ve chosen not to have a loft apartment on the second floor, and instead build-out more offices for Landline Creative Labs. It wasn’t […]

Also posted in 209 Pearl, Art and Culture, Landline Creative Labs, Local Business, Locally Owned Business, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

The Olmsted Brothers’ 1913 plan for Ypsi’s stretch of the Huron River

Way back in 2007, after learning that my friend Nat Edmunds was in possession of an original copy of the 1913 Huron River Improvement Plan drafted by influential landscape architects John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., I made a promise on this site that I’d figure out a way to get it scanned […]

Also posted in History, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Lee Azus on how urban renewal remade Ypsilanti’s Southside

Almost five years ago now, I interviewed a new transplant to Ypsi by the name of Lee Azus as part of our ongoing Ypsilanti Immigration series. Azus, a former San Francisco bookstore owner, as you might recall, was anxious to hit the ground running and really get to know this community which he had chosen […]

Also posted in History, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Wayfinding in Ypsilanti… if we’re going to do this, let’s do it right

I don’t know how it was decided… maybe someone important got lost on his or her way through Ypsilanti… but word has apparently come down that we need to institute a comprehensive wayfinding system across the city, so that people, from here on out, will know which way they need to point their cars if […]

Also posted in Ann Arbor, Art and Culture, History, Uncategorized, Ypsilanti | Tagged , , , , , | 21 Comments

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