The YMCA has accepted the AATA’s offer of $3.5 million for their current structure on William, according to this story in the Ann Arbor News:
” Y to sell building for $3.5 million
The Ann Arbor YMCA Thursday accepted an offer from the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to buy the Y’s building at William Street and Fifth Avenue for $3.5 million.
The AATA wants to level the Y building and the Blake Transit Center next door to build a larger new bus terminal. The authority wants to sell the rights to build above the new terminal to a developer, probably for low-cost and some moderately priced housing.
The Y is in the process of building a new center on Washington Street just west of downtown and hopes to move in by the beginning of 2005.
The offer now goes to the city of Ann Arbor, which has 20 days to exercise its first right of refusal on the property, which means the city would have to match the offer to buy the building.
That right is part of a management agreement between the Y and the city, under which the Y agreed to run a low-cost, 100-room residence, until 2010. If the Y closes the residence, it will have to pay about $129,000 a year for every year remaining in the agreement, says Cathi Duchon, the Y’s executive director.
As part of the purchase agreement with AATA, the Y and the authority will ask the city to dissolve the low-cost housing requirement, she says.”
I think that a good story for either the Ann Arbor News or the Daily would be to go and interview some of the people who currrently live in the low-income units, and see what they think about the purchase of their home.