Lansing-East Lansing, MI Development

[Velvet_Highground]

Yup. If I were a true optimist I would say it’s an opening to build out a new wing of the Lansing skyline towards the Grand River. I’m not a pessimist though but I thought Grand Rapids when I saw the placement and with GR’s sold growth they still haven’t rationalized their skyline.

I’m glad to see a major project in the works (hopefully) with the goal of getting state workers to live downtown. I really want to say that this could jumpstart a new phase in development in downtown Lansing, I want to see it happen. I’m not overly familiar with the in’s and outs of the state of play in the city but there’s definitely potential to be unlocked.

Not trying to be down on the city it’s made great strides over the past couple decades & I don’t doubt we’ll keep seeing more good news, of that I have no question. I just really what city leaders and developers to understand just how important it is to get a project like this the first new skyscraper in decades right.

Smh this is probably going to scare Ann Arbor into downsizing its next few tall proposals. You let developers build one tall awkward building in the 70’s and it ruins it for every skyscraper enthusiast who wants to see a tall balanced skyline built in Michigan, lol.

[subterranean]

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but I lived in Lansing and worked for the state for about a decade. Very familiar with this town. Lansing is fairly livable overall, but its biggest issues in my mind are as follows:

• Most state workers want nothing to do with living in Lansing. Nearly everyone I know who still lives there are in either Grand Ledge, Portland, DeWitt, East Lansing, Okemos, or Williamston. Like with other urban areas, the primary issue is the schools. Of the people I knew who do/did live in the city itself, they were either young professionals without kids, empty nesters, or Catholics who sent their kids to private schools (Catholic Central). East Lansing and Okemos are both near the top in term of rankings. Larry Page graduated from ELHS.
  
• Lansing is too quick to tear down its history in the name of "progress". I still cannot even believe some of the demolitions that have occurred in that town. They tore down the Michigan Theater, leaving the city with no downtown venues for movies or live music. They tore down two whole blocks of historic commercial buildings along Michigan Avenue as recently as the last 5-7 years. The first was for the Stadium District, the second was for apartments on Michigan Avenue where Emil's used to be across from Green Door. They tore down the historic Lansing City Market. All of these except the theater were torn down for shoddy apartment complexes by Pat Gillespie. It's criminal.
  
• They do not attract nationally touring music acts of any small to medium size since the only real venue they have is Wharton Center on the MSU campus. I was constantly driving to Grand Rapids or Detroit for live music. It is a major quality of life issue and actually shocking given that they have a campus of 45,000 college students.

[DetroitMan]

What to know about Lansing's newest city hall proposal

A new city hall project has been announced but Mayor Andy Schor says there are few details, because it's early in the planning process, which he hopes to keep public for transparency.

With that in mind, here's what we do and don't know about the project.

What do we know about the proposed city hall?
Schor is planning a new city hall, with about 75,000 square feet of space including a first-floor service center where residents could pay taxes, bills, and fines and take care of other city business. The Capital Area Transportation Authority would consider adding onto the new city hall for its own new headquarters.


What don't we know?
There's no firm timeline yet and the city doesn't know which offices will go where or many of the key internal design points. There is no rendering or formal design work. The floorplan, which had been designed based on Schor's previous plans to transform the Masonic Temple into a new city hall, will need to be adjusted.

The current plans will build off the Masonic plans and a 2019 study by Ghafari Associates. That study looked at the parking lot site and determined it was viable for a city hall, Schor said.

Where will the new city hall be built?
It would be built at a surface parking lot called City Lot 1, 425 S. Grand Avenue, at the intersection of Grand Avenue and East Lenawee Street.

What's the deal with the parking lot?
Prior to the pandemic, the 115-car lot was frequently used by state workers and brought the city around $150,000 a year in revenue from parking, said Scott Bean, a spokesperson for the city. In the most recent year, it drew around $6,000 in revenue, which likely isn't enough to cover costs like plowing or maintenance, he said.

A new city hall would convert a portion of the city's surface lots to a better use, Schor said. The city has a reputation for having way too much surface parking, the mayor said, which he blamed largely on state complexes.

Who will develop the project?
The bid for a new city hall was awarded to the Boji Group back in 2021. That older bid for a city hall had been tweaked to accommodate the Masonic project, and some council members objected to the process. The other bidder in 2021, Granger Group, also sought a new bid process this year. The Boji Group declined to comment, through a spokesperson, for this story.

Following the mayor's announcement of the new city hall plans, Jason Granger said in a statement that "Granger is supportive of this decision."

"Mayor Schor has chosen the right direction for the City of Lansing and has made a common sense decision that is in the city's best interest," the statement said.

Can the city use the state money?
The new plan would likely be able to use $40 million in state money, which came with few conditions: There is a "tentative" deadline of Sept. 30, 2027, regarding effort made to work on a campus with other state or local organizations and there is language about "historic preservation considerations or evaluation of alternative options."

The new project would help bolster the city's historic Cherry Hill neighborhood right next door, said council member Ryan Kost.

What about local tax dollars?
The plan could be cheaper than the Masonic redo, which had anticipated a $2 million sale of the existing city hall to supplement the state appropriation and additional brownfield money to fix up the top floors for other tenants. Schor said the new city hall plan would aim at using only the state appropriation.

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...w/73619121007/

[deja vu]

Just some spring-time aerial views of East Lansing & the MSU campus -
















Source: LinkedIn | Michigan State University