ANN ARBOR – Susan Pollay has served as the executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (DDA) since 1996.
Under her guidance, downtown Ann Arbor has undergone several transformative changes, from the addition of parking structures to more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly streets.
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Before she joined the DDA, Pollay was executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival and the State Street Area Association, and currently sits on the board of the getDowntown advisory board and the University of Michigan's Museum of Natural History Board of Advisors.
We caught up with the self-professed "Queen of Concrete," who says she's grateful for her role in revamping the vibrant downtown area, a role that's not without its challenges.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Looking back on all these years of work, is it what you expected in the beginning?
"So, I was warned off the job. It’s little known, but I accepted the job, turned it down and then immediately accepted it again. And in that gap, I had been warned by people that my job would be highly bureaucratic, municipal and the worst of it would be facing City Hall -- that I would never get anything done (there). And I’m not bureaucratic, and still, to this day, I have to remind myself to submit a time sheet.
"But I came in because there were two things. One: I love downtown. My clothing, my eating, my everything is downtown. I’m so proud to show off our downtown to everybody, and so grateful that everyone is contributing to it. And whether it’s David Zinn and his chalk drawing, or Main Street Ventures, everyone is rolling in the same direction, which is this amazing place.
Washington Street in Downtown Ann Arbor (Photo: Meredith Bruckner)
"Second part is, I love a good challenge. This job has never been dull, and it’s never been the same, day in and day out. And I’m very grateful to the DDA board and their vision and commitment to values. They’re very Ann Arbor values.
"This is a DDA that has been concerned about affordability and gentrification. This DDA has given away millions to affordable housing projects out of a commitment to a downtown that is diverse and interesting and serves everybody. That’s a unique Ann Arbor approach."
There's this sense around town that the DDA is this entity that holds a certain power, and some feel a disconnect. What is your response to that?
"When I started, it was just a one-person shop, and it took me a long time to realize that we were just doing amazing, transformative things. But many in our community, rightly, had a vacuum when it came to: What is the DDA? What does it do? Who are they? And with Maura Thomson’s selection as our new communication manager, we have an opportunity to fill in that vacuum, to fill in that void of people’s understanding.
"They know our name. So some people assume things. They assume 'development' -- we are the ones responsible for all the development downtown. Or they see 'authority,' and they think, 'Oh those people, we can’t touch them.' And I even met with a group of retired university women last week and because of the name ‘downtown,’ they thought the only thing we cared about was downtown.
"And what I tried to convey was, in fact, we are not a bubble. We are not an island, we are healthy and strong because of our community and our region and it’s part of who we are, it’s our identity.
"We are placed in exactly this location, so we have to care. It’s part of what Ann Arbor’s downtown is, so all three words of our name have not completely conveyed all that we are about, and certainly having Maura there will help."
Speaking of Maura, she was the executive director of the Main Street Area Association for many years. Tell me about her new role.
"The community has important insights, important feedback, important concerns we need to understand. Having a person dedicated -- not that I’m not there -- but this role and what makes Maura just remarkable in it is that she’s been an honest conveyor of information in her last role, 14 years or more, and I valued every time she spoke.
"She shared with us what others were saying, she shared with us how some of what we were doing could be tweaked to make it better. She shared opportunities and issues going on downtown. I’m very grateful to have her out there, listening, to broaden, even, the array of voices to make sure we’re hearing from everybody."
Tell me more about your People Friendly Streets Initiative.
"With the goal of transformation, we’re asking about the area west of Main Street, which has a lot of open parking lots, which will one day be built. And what we’re trying to do is ask ourselves as a community: How would we like to guide what will become a vibrant neighborhood? There’s a certain vibrancy now, but how do we shape what will be coming?
(Photo: Meredith Bruckner)
"Because if it’s very car-centric, it’s very hard to argue for an active first-floor. If there’s really no realm for pedestrians, why have an active first floor, like a coffee shop or Literati?
"On Ashley, we have really strong retail, and we have areas where we can really strengthen it. Restoring two-way traffic (in that area) brings the realm back to a pedestrian speed, it brings back pedestrian sense of perspective, that that is the center of this, not just cars getting out of town quickly.
"So part of the conversation we’re going to have with the community is in a way even broader than traffic and pedestrians. It’s: How do we shape the way this part of downtown functions? Because out ahead of the development is the right time to have this conversation.
"And at the same time, how do we safeguard the jewels on these streets? And a good example is Downtown Home & Garden. It’s an absolute hub and anchor around which many of us see each other and hang out together at Bill's Beer Garden. How do we envision things changing to the good, but not damaging the good that we have? And the public is going to help us, because they know better than any expert would."
Read: Ann Arbor DDA seeks public feedback in series of meetings March 19-22
What has been the most challenging part of your job?
"We have been at the center of controversies, in some part, because we’ve given ourselves the role as a place where people have a conversation about change downtown, and change is hard. It’s not always easy, and again, that word ‘development’ in our name, we become that place to have that dialogue. So, in many ways, (for example) fighting a DDA parking garage is a way to fight change.
(Courtesy: Susan Pollay)
"I had a neighbor, may she rest in peace, who lived a couple doors down, and she hated me. She really personalized it. Because the name ‘development.’ Some of her favorite restaurants went out of business, and someone had to be in charge of making that decision. Someone has to be blamed because things are changing.
"And it’s a very interesting thing because I’m a private person, so bringing that into my personal world ... it gave me a humility because I felt for her. She felt such anguish. She felt such powerlessness, and her fury at me was really a sense of frustration.
"It really gave me insights into how personal this change is for people; that the skyline changes. Some people take this very personally. And yet, after the building’s been up for a while, almost all these buildings are background buildings and recede from view.
"As a development authority, we are urbanites who love cities, and we’re going to love it in a way that not everybody agrees with. You have people who say, ‘I haven’t been downtown in years, and I hate what you’re doing.’ But the world is urbanizing."
You said you were a private person, which is surprising because you’re such a public figure. What would you say is something that’s surprising about you?
"I’m not that interesting! I really don’t know. I’m not self-centered enough to even know the answer to that question. I guess that’s a question for others who know me.
"For myself, what is a surprise is how much I love this job. I love the work we do. I love listening to people talk and sharing their perspectives. I love concrete -- I’m not joking. I love parking garages. I find them fascinating and when I go to other towns, I’m exploring parking garages and parking rates. It’s an interesting insight into how a community views itself."
Learn more about the DDA and its projects by visiting its website.