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The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is 
published every Thursday during the 
spring and summer terms by students 
at the University of Michigan. One copy 
is available free of charge to all readers. 
Additional copies may be picked up at the 
Daily’s office for $2. Subscriptions for fall 
term, starting in September, via U.S. mail 
are $110. Winter term (January through 
April) is $115, yearlong (September 
through April) is $195. University affiliates 
are subject to a reduced subscription rate. 
On-campus subscriptions for fall term 
are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. 
The Michigan Daily is a member of The 
Associated Press and The Associated 
Collegiate Press. 

2

Thursday, July 30, 2015
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
NEWS

The Grove on North 
Campus undergoes 
latest renovations 

$6.9 million project 
plans for volleball 

court, rain gardens and 

new walkways

By ALYSSA BRANDON

Summer Managing News Editor

Construction on North Campus 

is underway as renovations to The 
Eda U. Gerstacker Grove kick off 
near the North Campus Diag.

According to a statement from 

the College of Engineering, the 
goal of the project — named the 
Grove Project — is to transform 
the four-acre Gerstacker Grove 
into a space where students can 
linger and connect, making it a 
space comparable to that of the 
Diag on Central Campus.

Last 
week, 
the 
University 

Regents approved designs for the 
$6.9 million project design from 
Stoss, a Boston-based design firm. 
Renovations to the grove include 
new walkways, a paved plaza 
near the Ann and Robert H. Lurie 
Tower, and a sand volleyball court. 
The design also calls for an addi-
tional 180 trees with rain gardens.

In a statement, the Taubman 

College of Architecture and Urban 
Planning Dean Monica Ponce 
de Leon said the Grove Project’s 
unique design will help connect 
the engineering and architecture 
communities.

“The design of an interdisci-

plinary mixed-use outdoor space 
on North Campus brings U-M’s 
premiere arts, architecture and 
engineering communities togeth-
er in an unprecedented interac-
tive and visible way,” Ponce de 
Leon said. “Conceptualizing the 
existing space for new purposes 
will provide a venue for recre-
ation, exhibition and performance 
unlike any other on Michigan’s 
campus, creating a new destina-
tion for the arts and sciences.”

In an interview with the Daily, 

University planner Susan Gott 
said the project was first concep-
tualized during the creation of the 
2008 North Campus Master Plan, 
which calls for a series of renova-
tions across North Campus.

“As we were updating the mas-

ter plan for North Campus in 
between 2005 and 2008, we saw 
as part of the vision for North 
Campus the need and the oppor-
tunity for increased vitality and 
more destinations that would 
attract more University commu-
nity members to North Campus 
as a destination– activities and 
events that would be a reason to 
come and stay, and so the Grove 
was considered to be at the core 
and therefore an opportunity for 
a real iconic space on North Cam-
pus,” Gott said.

According to Gott, planners 

held a competition in 2007 called 
the WorkPlay competition, in 
order to solicit ideas from stu-
dents, faculty and staff on how to 
create a more interactive gather-
ing space at the Grove.

“There were two winning sub-

missions, and those winning sub-
missions were then integrated 
into what is the basic concept of 
the Grove,” she said. “Once we had 
the concept, we then hired a site 
designer to design it.”

Funding for the project was 

made possible through donations 
from the Rollin M. Gerstacker 
Foundation and other University 
donors.

According to Gott, construc-

tion workers have completed the 
demolition phase of the project, 
and are currently preparing the 
site with earthwork, utilities and 
underground work. Renovations 
to the Grove are scheduled for 
completion by fall 2015.

Overall, Gott said she is hopeful 

the renovations to the Grove will 
create an exciting destination on 
North Campus, as well as a home 
for students.

“Students that live and study 

there should think of this Grove as 
their home, and therefore a place 
that they will embrace,” Gott said.

low city council members, she is 

officially endorsed by the Huron Val-
ley Central Labor Council.

Although he’s not a newcomer to 

Ann Arbor, Briere’s opponent, Leaf, 
is new to City Council scene. Leaf 
has lived in Ann Arbor since 1993 
and, after graduating from the Uni-
versity, started his own mineral sun-
screen business that is based outside 
the city.

In terms of his experience with 

politics, in 2008 Leaf lobbied for 
a video privacy ordinance that, 
according to MLive, “would impose 
limitations on police surveillance of 
citizens.” Leaf also served as the co-
chairman of the short-lived Mixed 
Use Party, which advocated for more 
mixed-use zoning in the city.

If elected, Leaf pledges to do the 

following: increase road repair fund-
ing, create an annual bus pass avail-
able to all city residents, improve 
pedestrian safety by adding more 
barriers, medians and pedestrian-
activated stoplights and reform zon-
ing laws to preserve farmland and 
reduce greenhouse gas emissions in 
Ann Arbor.

Leaf is endorsed by former Ann 

Arbor 
City 
Attorney 
Elizabeth 

Schwartz and two local businesses — 
RoosRoast Coffee and Kaleidoscope 
Books and Collectibles.

John Roos, the owner of Roos-

Roast, said Leaf has the right mind-
set for a City Council representative.

“Will Leaf is a resident citizen of 

Ann Arbor and his outlook is well 
balanced for this city’s complex 
future,” Roos said.

Ward 3: Stephen Kunselman (D) v. 

Zachary Ackerman (D)

Like Briere, Kunselman is also up 

for re-election. He has represented 
Ward 3 on City Council for three 
terms. Since he got his start on coun-
cil in 2006, Kunselman’s accom-
plishments include leading the effort 
to stop the dissolution of the Ann 
Arbor Transportation Authority, 
reforming the Downtown Develop-
ment Authority and advocating for a 
skate park — which now exists — in 
the Ann Arbor.

If re-elected to the council, Kun-

selman promises to focus on the 
following: justly distributing the 
city’s financial resources, investing 
in infrastructure, providing more 
funding for parks and rebuilding the 
city’s public safety department.

Kunselman is endorsed by the 

Sierra Club, Michigan Chapter and 
the Sierra Club, Huron Valley Group. 
The club is the nation’s largest grass-
roots environmental organization. 
In a press release published on July 
16th, the organization — which is 
also endorsing Kunselman’s fellow 
candidates Jack Eaton and Mike 
Anglin — commended these men for 

ELECTIONS
From Page 1

See ELECTIONS, Page 3

