A2’s got a sinking feeling

A2’s got a sinking feeling

A big oops angers downtown businesses, residents

QUINN DAVIS

Editor

The Ann Arbor City Council hemmed and hawed for more than four hours, trying to decide how to move ahead with the city’s 319 S. Fifth Ave. property, more commonly know as the “Library Lot.” This was surprising; only 11 days earlier, it seemed like the council had received a rather foreboding sign — one that could certainly sway them. You might even call it biblical. On March 24, the ground literally opened up directly next to the north side of the Library Lot underground parking construction site. The resulting hole, which was estimated to be four stories deep, required the businesses nearby, Jerusalem Garden and The Earthen Jar, to be evacuated, and they had to stay closed for the rest of the day. Ali Ramlawi, owner of Jerusalem Garden, said that the hole was so wide that it reached from the construction fence all the way across to The Earthen Jar building, even exposing the foundation of the business. The hole was right in the middle of the driveway next to The Earthen Jar, which led to a parking lot where two of Ramlawi’s employees were parked, as well as tenants of an Arch Realty property located a few yards from the hole. “The crazy thing is Arch never contacted me,” said Dan Gosnell, 27, of Ann Arbor, a tenant in the 310 E. Liberty St. Arch Realty property. “I just came home and I got a message from my friend Phil and he’s like, ‘Hey, what’s going on with that sinkhole?’” Late last week, Arch Realty still hadn’t contacted Gosnell, something he finds strange considering the fact that the hole affects his parking situation and could have encroached on his personal safety. Arch Realty did not respond to numerous telephone calls from The Washtenaw Voice. The other company involved in the situation is Christman Company, the contractor in charge of the construction on the site, and the hole was created when part of the retaining wall it created gave way. “The sands that we’re dealing with in Ann Arbor have a tendency to find holes and start running,” said Patrick Podges, vice president of Christman Company. “They are granular, non-cohesive and when there is an opening, it’s like flipping an hour glass.” Podges went on to say that his company is doing everything in its power to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again. It has injected grout into the sand behind the retaining wall, which will help solidify the sands. He also stressed that the event was isolated, and that a forensic evaluation would have to be done to determine whether or not nearby businesses are owed compensation. Susan Polly, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, also assured that the location is now safe enough for construction to continue. The DDA is the volunteer board that has managed Christman Company throughout construction of the site. The DDA is made up of Mayor John Hieftje, City Councilmember Sandi Smith and 11 other Ann Arbor citizens, some of whom are downtown business owners. Nevertheless, Ramlawi wants more of an explanation than that. He’s not looking at Christman, though. Instead, he blames the DDA. Ramlawi said that since construction on the parking structure began, his business and that of The Earthen Jar’s has dropped dramatically. He’s called the DDA several times to ask for assistance when things have gone awry, and gone awry they have; Ramlawi’s business has had interrupted services, such as electricity, water, sewage, street lighting, parking, trash pickup, recycling services and more. So far, he finds the response from the DDA to be, to say it lightly, inadequate. “It’s just a complete nightmare, man,” said Ramlawi. “For an agency that’s supposed to be about downtown, they’re really falling short. It’s just disgusting, the lack of support.” Ramlawi said that so far he’s only received a string of Christmas lights, parking validation and a sign from the DDA. He voiced his concern at the April 4 City Council meeting. “We are a part of what makes Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, and unfortunately the DDA has different ideas of what they think Ann Arbor should be. And they are not taking care of the people who make Ann Arbor special,” he said emphatically, followed by a round of applause from attending citizens. Later, while making a decision about DDA’s involvement with the future of the construction site, several council members noted that Ramlawi’s concerns should be taken into consideration, and that they were “not without merit.” However, hours of stipulation later, the council voted to give the DDA the responsibility of determining what construction would be placed on top of the underground parking lot, as well as the “Y Lot,” located on Washington Street. This, of course was not what Ramlawi hoped for. “(The DDA is) on a destructive path,” he said during the meeting. “They are non-elected officials making decisions that elected officials should be making. “I fear for the future of the city of Ann Arbor if the DDA’s role is increased.”