Monday, March 4, 2013
The page expresses an expected opening date of 2015 for the live-work spaces in east downtown Dearborn.
Calling all artists: The site to learn about Dearborn's upcoming Artspace project at the current Dearborn City Hall is now live. The webpage detailing the upcoming Artspace project—set to become live-work space and performance space for local artists in the Dearborn area—details the building and neighborhood the arts nonprofit is looking to move into. More: Appraiser sets sale price of City Hall to Artspace at $1.65M The four-story, 1920s-built city hall, set in the heart of east downtown Dearborn, is expected to become Artspace lofts by 2015. Leasing applications are not yet available. According to Artspace's description, the project was an effort of the city to help revive the district's economy: Looking to use the power of the arts to …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
O'Reilly said during State of City address that both sides agreed to honor appraiser's price; sale to be finalized in coming months.
Dearborn Mayor Jack O'Reilly made a surprising announcement during his State of the City address Wednesday night: the proposed sale price of the current Dearborn City Hall. It's expected that arts development nonprofit Artspace—which has committed to turning the city hall building at 13615 Michigan Ave. into live-work space for artists—will pay $1.65 million for the facility. "That's the price established by an independent appraiser," O'Reilly said in prepared remarks before local officials and community members Wednesday. Though the sale of the building to Artspace has been discussed for nearly a year, the city had not previously released an estimated sale price. "We both agreed on the appraiser and what the appraiser said is what the …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Residents, city officials and Oakwood representatives will meet to discuss a resolution to complaints about the company's campus smoking ban.
A public hearing will be held Thursday, Feb. 7, to address concerns surrounding a no-smoking policy on the Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center campus. Residents of the neighborhood surrounding Oakwood came before Dearborn City Council in December 2012 with concerns that a city ordinance banning smoking on hospital grounds was driving patients, visitors and employees who choose to smoke into their neighborhoods. The ordinance, approved in January 2012 under the offenses chapter of the city code, added hospitals to the list of places in which smokers had to be at least 100 feet away before they could partake. It was enacted after Oakwood—which has its own no-smoking policy on the campus—came to the city asking for help in getting hospital …
Friday, January 11, 2013
Expect to see an open layout and centralized services.
A picture of what Dearborn's new city hall could look like is starting to develop. Mike Kirk of Neumann-Smith Architecture met with Dearborn City Council Thursday to discuss details of the design for the building. This includes both how city departments will be structured, as well as how the layout will serve both city employees and residents. The city purchased the former ADP building in May of 2012, with the intent to make it their new administrative home. The two-story office building sits just west of the Henry Ford Centennial Library, at 16901 Michigan Ave. Drawings presented by Kirk on Thursday show that Dearborn's new city hall could function more like a business, with residents being assisted at one main "lobby" area and then …
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Big projects, elections, event—here's what's happening in Dearborn in 2013.
It's 2013—but what does that mean for Dearborn? Here's what residents can expect in the coming year. Dearborn's Intermodal Passenger Rail Station Armed with full federal funding, the City of Dearborn officially kicked off construction on the new train station in September of 2012. The fast-paced project is set to be completed in the fall of 2013—and with it, big plans for helping to welcome more visitors to Dearborn, as well as create more sustainability for the west downtown area. University of Michigan-Dearborn Student Housing Also set for completion in 2013 is a new student housing option for University of Michigan-Dearborn students. The project, located on Town Center Drive across the street from the main campus, is under construction …
Monday, December 31, 2012
A look back at the issue that got residents talking in 2012.
In Dearborn, 2012 was defined by discussion about local government issues—from new ordinances to budget cuts. But no issue created more buzz, and more disagreement, than the pending move of Dearborn City Hall to a new location. Discussion among residents began in January 2012, when it was announced that the City of Dearborn and Dearborn Public Schools were discussing the possibility of combining their operations into joint offices at the old ADP building on Michigan Avenue. In April, the city signed a letter of intent to sell the current city hall building to Artspace, which intends to turn the space into live-work space for artists. Then, in May, City Council finalized the purchase of the ADP building for $3.2 million. The move has been …
Monday, December 17, 2012
A small contingency of supporters gathered at Dearborn City Hall Monday to mourn the victims of the shooting.
When Lincoln Park resident Karen heard about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT, that took the lives of 20 children and six adults, she knew that she didn't want to mourn alone. "I wanted to be around other people feeling the same way," she said while attending a candlelight vigil at Dearborn City Hall on Monday evening. "I feel helpless." She wasn't alone, as around 20 members of the community gathered in Dearborn, while other vigils took place in Dearborn Heights and other nearby communities. Dearborn's was organized by Hussein Hachem of the Young Leaders Committee, part of the Lebanese American Heritage Club. Hachem said he organized the vigil out of a feeling that he had to do something to show the community of …
Thursday, December 13, 2012
District finances, future funding requests, the needs of students and real estate values will figure into the decision to sell Howe School and move district offices.
For the members of the Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education and the district administration, selling Howe Elementary School and moving its programs to the current Ten Eyck headquarters, then moving its central office to the new city hall is a complex issue dependent on several factors. The city, which is planning to move its City Hall facilities to a new location, had hoped to get the school on board with applying for a joint services grant through the state that could have awarded them up to $800,000 for combining their services. The board last month determined that they were not, at this time, ready to move forward with that plan. But beyond that, other issues play into the decision to sell Howe and shuffle around their buildings—…
Monday, December 3, 2012
The city had hoped to apply for a competitive assistance grant through the state if the district and city offices were to merge their space.
As the City of Dearborn moves forward with plans to transition to a new city hall building by 2014, efforts to incorporate Dearborn Public Schools into that plan have stalled. More: City Discusses Design Elements of New City Hall Mayor Jack O'Reilly said in meetings last week that he had hoped to apply for a grant through the state's Competitive Grant Assistance Program, which rewards municipalities for mergers and partnerships with other cities and entities aimed at saving all parties considered significant funds. The grant would have provided up to $800,000 for the project. The deadline O'Reilly had hoped to reach for applying for the grant in regard to the city-schools location merger was Dec. 3. "If the grant comes, we have to decide …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Dearborn City Council members discussed design ideas this week with Architect Mike Kirk.
It will be at least a year before the City of Dearborn begins to transition into their new City Hall, but discussions about what officials would like to see have already begun. More: Dearborn OKs purchase of new city hall building Mike Kirk of Neumann/Smith Architecture met with City Council and Mayor Jack O’Reilly on Tuesday to hear their thoughts on the design, layout and features of the new space. Possibilities include the elimination of private offices for the mayor and council members, creation of more private meeting rooms, plus a more versatile design for the city council chambers and much more use of technology. The new City Hall will also likely include a “front desk” for all visitors. “That way, everything occurs more …
Ahoy
11:22 pm on Sunday, March 3, 2013
This looks like nothing more than a scam to attract and pay for more subsidized housing in the city. I wonder how many college-aged relatives of people tied to this project will be living here with a sweet deal paying minimal rent the first year after it opens for "business". more ›