Dear PoPville – 13th St. Residents upset about plans for a 6-Story Condo on Mr. Wash and Jerry Chan’s Carryout lots in Logan Circle

1300 block of 13th Street, Northwest

“Dear PoPville,

Many owners at The Iowa Condominium are not happy about Holladay Corporation’s plans for new condos on the 13th Street lots currently occupied by Mr. Wash and Jerry Chan’s Carry Out (see Dupont Current 11/13/13 article – p. 12). Holladay’s plans will negatively impact the quality of life for Iowa residents as they include constructing a 60-foot high wall that’s 23 feet away from the back of Iowa Condo townhouses. This 60-foot high wall will block direct sunlight from the units on the south side of the Iowa as well as a large portion of the unique Iowa Condo courtyard / fountain area. When an Iowa condo owner spoke with a representative at Holladay about the wall height/closeness, loss of sunlight and privacy concerns, the response included “that’s part of living in the city”. Finally, the proposed 67 condo units will bring more cars and fewer parking options to a neighborhood where parking is already at a premium.

Many Iowa Condo owners would like a lower building height with more of a Blagden Alley/Naylor Court feel to better fit in with this uniquely configured block. There is also strong interest in replacing the existing alley between the Iowa and proposed new condos with a “green alley” (with no vehicle traffic) per the following link: http://greengaragedetroit.com/index.php?title=Green_alley.

It appears that Holladay is not interested in Logan Circle community feedback based on their lack of contact with the LCCA, the ANC and Jack Evans’ office to date. We hope by getting info about Holladay’s current condo plans out to community, we might be able to incent them to work with residents to create a neighborhood asset.”