BY CHRISTINA HAMATI
For the Daily
Published June 10, 2007
The Ann Arbor City Council sealed the fate of the East University Avenue apartment complex Anberay by unanimously voting last Monday to grant its new owner permission to demolish the 84-year-old building for the construction of a larger complex in its place.
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Anberay's owner, Chicago-based real estate company Zaragon Inc., bought the building - better known to students as Melrose Place - earlier this year and then soon after announced plans to raze it to make way for a taller apartment complex, parking garage and retail space.
Zaragon president and University alum Rick Perlman said the new 10-story building would provide more, better quality student housing.
"It's going to be great," Perlman said in an interview. "The new building will be great for this university and great for this city."
Zaragon plans to begin construction this fall.
Maggie Ladd, executive director of the South University Area Association, agreed that Zaragon's proposed development will benefit the city.
"There are 21 units in that building now, compared to the 66 units Zaragon plans to put in," Ladd said. "That's an equivalent of around 250 people - people who would be shopping and eating in the South University area."
Jill Thacher, a historic preservation coordinator in Ann Arbor, said she objects to Zaragon's plan to demolish Anberay. She explained that the only reason the 84-year-old building isn't protected as a historic landmark is because in 2001, the court ruled that the building wasn't located in a historic district.
"There's no doubt this is a historic building," she said. "I'd much rather see the building maintained or restored. It has a lot of character."
Thacher's cited the book "Historic Buildings of Ann Arbor," which includes Anberay, as proof of the building's historic value. Anberay was designed in 1923 by architects Albert J. J. Rousseau and George W. McConkey and was home to many notable University figures, including late Michigan football coach and athletic director Fielding Yost, the book says.
LSA junior Stephen Hickner, who lives in Anberay, agrees that the complex should be saved.
"It's really old and showing a lot of wear and tear," he said. "It definitely needs renovation. But if they could find a way to renovate it and keep the fa
