P'odge2~- The Michigan Daily - ray, June 20, 1986
City growth spurt may
nudge out student tenants
By MARY CHRIS JAKLEVIC
New office buildings are spurting up around Ann Arbor, built in the near future.
as the city experiences its biggest development boom sin- "Ann Arbor ia becoming more attractive to people who
ce the early 1960s. Some local officials fear the new are 'non-University', which may take away from the
business may attract more young professionals to the housing available to students. But I don't think that at this
city, who will compete with students for off-campus point it's a crisis situation. It would have to be a pretty ex-
housing and further worsen the already tight housing treme case for the University to build a new dorm," said
market. Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor).
"As the downtown area becomes more attractive for Several years ago the Board of Regents refused a
professional people it is bound to result in competition for request from the Housing Office to builda new dorm with
students," City Planning Director Martin Overhiser said. the help of a low-interest federal loan program becausg
"There are more jobs coming to downtown ... Some of board members anticipated a drop in the student
these employers are going to want to live near where they population at the tail end of the baby boom. The drop did
work," Overhiser said. not come, but now the chances of building additional
HE ADDED that even workers at the many office University housing are even less because the loan
buildings under construction on the outskirts of the city program has been discontinued.
may move near campus because of the cultural facilities HOUSING DIRECTOR Robert Hughes said the Univer-
and stores in the area. sity may conduct a study of the student housing situation
andJtoresythe assrsea. D' if students have problems finding housing in the fall.
Jo Rumsey, Assistant Director of the University's "eatcpt hnsaeaon ogttgtr"Hge
Housing Information Office, said some landlords may s e anticipate things are going to get tighter," Hughes
prefer renting to non-students, because they stay longer, The city development boom began around the Briar
wear less on the property, and are less likely to oppose wood area in the early 198e s with the construction of office
their landlords, as many students do through the Ann Ar- buildings. Residential developmental proposals followed,
bor Tenants Union. andOvgs side Plnnin prmestls nowd,
"They can pay more for rent, and they are considered a and Overhiser said the Planning Department is now star-
moreresponsible group in landlords' eyes," Rumsey said. ting to see proposals for commercial projects, such as
Rumsey said an influx of new residents would force shopping centers.
students to double up in the rooms they can rent, instead of Most of the growth has taken place in the outskirts of the
taking singles, or move a mile of two away from campus, city because the campus and downtown regions are
where housing is more plentiful. Also rents may already developed. But there are a few projects underway
rise because of the increased demand. near campus, such as the Tally Hall shopping and parking
UNIVERSITY residence halls were filled to capacity last center on Liberty Street, which is near completion.
year, and some double rooms were converted to triples to Evidence of the explosion is a doubling of the number of
accommodate the demand for rooms. building requests which the city reviews.
Off-campus housing was also tight. A survey by the But Julia Goode of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union said
University Housing Office showed a two percent vacancy she has not yet seen evidence of an influx in non-student
rate in off-campus rentalhousing. renters inm thecampus area.
"I still hope someone will add to the housing market,, Iyink some developesa kg
Rumsey said. "The demand for residence halls is intense may nothappen," Goode said.
and it has been for quite some time." Dai
BUT A NEW University residence hall is not likely to be ly staff writer Philip Levyfiled a reportfor this
story.
Cornered Doily Photo by ANDI SCHREIBER
An Ann Arbor resident makes his way past one of Main Street's several
banks, oblivious to both the time and the Dow Jones.
Repor
peoplea
tionate
mislead
shelter r
city poli
Life in streets leads to arrest for city's homeless
By MELISSA BIRKS withoutstaying at the shelter. deal with society," Larkin said. loitering or trespassing violations that released mentally ill people from
ts that Ann Arbor's homeless Both Zick and Larkin are also DEBRA RITZ, a resident of the she says are "related to the situation state institutions if they were proven
are committing a dispropor- aware of increased crime by shelter shelter, feels the community doesn't of being homeless." not to be a danger to themselves or
amount of crime may be residents, but say many of these care about the plight of the homeless. "You don't have a place to go, so others. This contributes to the high
ing, according to homeless crimes are linked to being homeless. "A lot of times you call somebody you're picked up where you shouldn't numbers of homeless people.
-esidents, staff members, and Many homeless people can't find for an apartment - you don't want to be," Zick said. Fifty percent of the shelter's
ce. independent housing, others are mention you're from the shelter IN ADDITION, laws in the 1970s See CITY, Page 5
arrested for loitering some are for- s hee 'the ,,' tern ,udn dwn 'ClicIk'
The Ann Arbor Observer recently
reported 60 arrests of 33 people bet-
ween Jan. 1 and May 10 who gave
their address as the Ann Arbor
Shelter for the Homeless on West
Huron St.
But shelter officials say many fac-
tors invalidate these figures. They
say, for example, that figures show
arrests -and not convictions.
"WE LIVE in a society in which
people are innocent until proven
guilty. This statment is based on the
number of arrests. Most charges are
dropped," Brian Larkin, program
assistant at the shelter, ssid.
The Ann Arbor police recognize the
unusually high rates of crime among
the homeless, but Captain Kenneth
Klinge pointed out that police records
may not accurately reflect crime,
because "anyone who stays in the
shelter for one night can use its ad-
dress asa residence.
KATHY ZICK, the shelter's direc-
tor, said over 700 people used the
facility last year. S added that
homeless people canuse thei address
ced to steal because they have no
money, and over half are mentally ill.
"They're unable to keep a job, an
apartment, they end up on the street,
in the shelter. They are not able to
UCUJ Uy 1 i11yU UUI . IU
- that's all you hear," Ritz said. "I
can deal with it. These other people
will give up."
Zick said she knew of several
residents who have been arrested for
Due to the University's new
phone system, phone numbers
for the Daily's editorial
staffs have been changed.
The new numbers are:
764-0553 News 763-0379 Arts
764-0562 News and Opinion
747-3334 News 763-0376 Sports
763-2459 News 747-3336 Sports
764-0552 News
Vol. XCVI-- No.7-S
The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967 X) is published Friday during the
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