Lansing-East Lansing, MI Development

[DetroitMan]

MSU pushes for return of swim, dive program as it approves $200M student recreation center

The 293,000-square-foot recreation center will be located in the northern portion of the former Cherry Lane site just south of the Breslin Student Events Center.

It will replace MSU's Intramural Recreative Sports West building, which has a 10-year, $46 million capital renewal need and will be demolished in the future as part of the project, the university said.

The principle recreation facilities at Michigan State University range in age from 40 to 100 years old, and have significant deferred maintenance, insufficient capacity and a lack of amenities that students desire, Daniel Bollman, vice president for strategic infrastructure planning and facilities, said in presentation documents for the new center. The new facility will include several gymnasiums and multi-activity courts, a turf arena, indoor running track, strength and fitness studios, racket sport courts, two classrooms and locker and toilet rooms to meet gender-inclusive needs.

It also will include a 50-meter recreational pool to support courses, water fitness and open swim, something that prompted renewed calls for MSU to bring back the university's swim and dive programs during the meeting's public comment period.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...ellness-center

[hood]

A few updates from around town... With a few construction new projects getting going there should be more to show over the next few months.

Rotary Clubs new accessible playground & pier at Adado:



Stadium North's Cedar St building is topped out while the Larch & Erie building is just going above ground:



Neogen expansion:



Ranney Park construction is moving along. The structure (waterfalls/cascades???) at the north end of the park is taking shape. The south end of the park is starting to look a little better as plants take hold.



Red Cedar Hotels inching towards completion:


Msu to Lake Lansing trail construction, this is just east of Hagadorn next to the Community School of Music. It appears close to ready for paving.



MSU finished repaving a dilapidated section of river trail from Bogue to Hagadorn leading the new Lk Lansing trail a couple weeks ago:


Multi cultural center's foundation construction is moving along:


Fencing up and site work just getting underway at the new IM building




A few extra pics: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAKRyY

[DetroitSky]

Some photos posted on Neumann/Smith's Facebook page of the grand opening of the MSUFCU Abbot Road Building:

[subterranean]

Happy to see the infill, but WTF is up with that blank wall on the MSUFCU building?

[deja vu]

Sharp-looking addition. The interior detailing looks pretty good. Maybe they are optimistic about a mid-rise eventually going up next-door. At least it's not "completely" blank - some visual interest with the patterning in the wall panels.

[DetroitMan]

This proposal would definitely change the look of Downtown Lansing!

Lansing developers unveil housing plan that could enliven a downtown low on state workers

Planned across three buildings — two new and one existing — the $215 million development proposed by New Vision Lansing LLC would have as many as 450 apartments with mix of market and "workforce" rents in what the project's developers say would amount to the largest private development project in downtown Lansing history.

The project's development team consists of the father-son team of Paul and John Gentilozzi of Lansing-based Gentilozzi Real Estate Inc., along with JFK Investment Co., owned by the Kosik family of Bloomfield Hills and led by Joseph Kosik. The principals view the project with an "if you build it they will come" mentality, acknowledging the long-held perception about downtown Lansing being an area known for being largely empty outside of core business hours.

The two developer families have partnered on various projects in the past, but the proposed Lansing project "holds the most promise for a transformative impact on Michigan's capital city and we look forward to the vision for Lansing becoming a reality," Kosik said in a statement.

Lansing's central business district has long been buoyed by the deluge of thousands of state employees who would flock to downtown in the morning and leave at 5 p.m., but that changed in March 2020 when the pandemic sent workers home for good, mostly for good. In turn, the state has shed tens of thousands of square feet of office space, leading to many downtown businesses struggling or going out of business altogether. While nearly all American cities with central business districts have been damaged to some degree by the pandemic and the rise of work-from-home, Lansing has been particularly hurt by its lack of residential base, said Paul Gentilozzi. The New Vision Lansing project seeks to address that.

"We didn't have the residential base that Kalamazoo has, or certainly Grand Rapids has," Paul Gentilozzi told Crain's. "As we walk the streets, both John and I really took it to heart that if we didn't do something — if the group of developers in our community didn't do something — Lansing was going to be damaged for the long term."

The Gentilozzis have developed and managed several office buildings in Lansing's central business district, while the Kosiks have been more focused on Oakland County's office sector.

All told, the developers plan the following:

• A new-build, 25-story apartment tower at 215 S. Grand Ave., three blocks east of the state Capitol building. The project's signature component would include up to 308 apartment units with a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units as well as market and below-market rents, parking for 350 cars and a host of amenities including a fitness center, pool and work-from-home spaces.

• An office-to-residential conversion of a century-old 10-story building at the southeast corner of South Washington Square and West Michigan Avenue, one block east of the state Capitol. The building would have up to 75 apartments with the majority charging below-market rents, 12-foot ceilings, a rooftop terrace, adjacent parking for 100 cars and retail space on Washington Square, downtown Lansing's primary retail corridor.

• The new-construction, 10-story Capitol Tower at the corner of West Ottawa and North Walnut immediately to the northwest of the state Capitol building would have seven floors consisting of up to 80 apartments, a mix of market and below-market rents, as well as three floors with about 35,000 square feet of office space. The office space has already been leased by undisclosed tenants, according to the developers.

Lansing-based The Christman Co. has been tapped as the construction manager for the project, while Hobbs+Black, headquartered in Ann Arbor, is the architect.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/real-e...wntown-lansing

[DetroitSky]

^^^That's great news! Here's a rendering of Capitol Tower:

[hood]

A few updates from today https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAS7fU:

Lansing Center promenade with new concrete:


A (bad) view of the Lansing Shuffle Club addition:


Stadium North Cedar St building:



Stadium North Larch & Erie building:


Neogen expansion appears to be nearly structurally complete:


Cleared land at Saginaw & Penn for Hepler's project:


Good progress at Ranney Park, they're working on pedestrian bridges and have done what looks like a final grading on the trails to be paved:





Completed hotels at Red Cedar:


One of two water features in the median of Michigan Ave at Morgan/Cascade:


New pedestrian bridge near Farm Ln:



The multicultural center (I think the awning/second floor overhang has yet to be built to the left):


Progress on the new IM building is not above ground but there are footings going in, there is a webcam for the project here:
https://app.oxblue.com/cameras/aa22e...uction/msusrwc

[deja vu]

Great updates! Thanks!

[deja vu]

Even a diehard Wolverines fan like myself has to admit that Sparty's upgraded football locker room suite is looking choice!


















Source: LinkedIn | IDS

[DetroitMan]

Lansing unveils long-awaited new city hall plan in historic building

The long-awaited new city hall finally has a proposed location: The former Masonic Temple Building, two blocks away from the current 1950s building that faces the state capitol building.

The move is boosted by a $40 million contribution from the state's budget this year.

The city is in talks with a developer to find plans for repurposing the current city hall. The current city hall is a few decades newer than the Masonic building, which was built in 1924 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. The bones of the century-old Masonic building are in great shape, and it was well-maintained by the Cooley Law School for about three decades before the Boji Group bought the building around 2019, CEO Ron Boji said during a Wednesday press conference with city leaders inside the building on Capitol Avenue.

"The Boji Group was selected to be the developer of the new City Hall after submitting a proposal in response to an earlier RFP, contingent upon the city obtaining the funding to make the move possible," the city said in a statement. "With the investment from the State of Michigan, the funding is now in place to secure the location and make the deal possible."

Mayor Andy Schor said he is hoping to have the new city hall open within two years. While the Masonic building is smaller than city hall by about 20,000 square feet, a significant portion of the city hall is occupied by police and courts. Those offices will be moved to a new public safety complex on Washington Street, south of Mt. Hope Avenue.

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...i/70840514007/

[Velvet_Highground]

Excellent choice for the new city hall it has the look and feel of a proper city hall and puts the building to good use after being vacated by Cooley Law School. Lansing has sort of quietly plugging away year after year improving all the while. There haven’t been the same kind of large attention grabbing developments for the most part that have marked Grand Rapids or Ann Arbor none the less the city has made itself a desirable location, gaining population in the 2021 census estimate.

[subterranean]

Wow, didn’t see that one coming. Very cool.

[DetroitMan]

Hundreds of new townhouses planned for area off Saginaw Street in Lansing

A new development of up to 240 townhouses is moving ahead at the corner of Saginaw Highway and Pennsylvania Avenue, with demolition of existing homes continuing in preparation for construction.

Developer Harry Hepler said he has completed all the property purchases necessary to move ahead with development of the 5 1/2-acre site.

Hepler told the State Journal Friday that he is now finalizing site plans, which will need to city approval. About 40 pieces of property were part of the development area, he said, where multiple homes have been torn down while others remain boarded up.

The Lansing City Council approved, 8-0, a rezoning application for 37 parcels that will allow higher density housing during its May 22 meetingMayor Andy Schor said he is eager to see the project continue.

"It is exciting, to take blighted properties and revitalize that space," he said. "It's part of the housing we need."

The city's Committee on Development and Planning, at a May 17 meeting, recommended that council approve rezoning 37 parcels to urban flex development. City staff said during the meeting that urban flex development zoning already exists west of the development, the rezoning fits with the city's master plan, and the area around it has been trending toward similar developments. The rezoning only applied to properties owned by Hepler. There are at least two homes that will remain, and Hepler said he expects to move forward without purchasing those homes.

Early plans for the project, which is still being refined, call for one-, two- and three-bedroom units starting at about $800 per month.

Phase 1, city documents show, would include up to 84 buildings with multiple units in each. The units would be three stories and feature first-floor garages with apartments above.

The project area borders Pennsylvania Avenue, East Saginaw Street, Prudden Street and May Street. Quaker Court and Park Terrace are within the project area. About 4.25 acres are east of Park Terrace while 1.25 acres are to the west of Park Terrace.

Hepler, who, according to H Inc., his company's website, has more than 30 years of experience in real estate and construction, has "developed a lifelong passion for rehabilitating urban areas and historic buildings."

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...a/71100483007/

[Rizzo]

Originally Posted by deja vu

Even a diehard Wolverines fan like myself has to admit that Sparty's upgraded football locker room suite is looking choice!

It’s definitely impressive (as a Wolverine). In the back of my head I’m realizing these facilities are peaking. From college and pro to even high school. It’s only been the last 20 years that clubhouse rooms went from concrete bunkers with steel lockers and benches to these futuristic facilities that look like the bridge of some space ship in a movie.

And it’s a must to attract talent. If schools don’t do this, they won’t wow prospects. Someone else will.

There’s a growing discontent with the benefits athletes are receiving. Some of it with college sports traditionalists or with academics where improvements to school property are lopsided. Also a lean toward privatization and the growing health concerns of sports injuries that almost seem inexcusable for the tens of millions of dollars spent on new facilities.

At least I have no one to blame but myself for concussions in football. Facilities and training staff were pretty ‘spartan’ then. I had to say that.

[hood]

Updated renderings of the three New Vision Lansing projects that received a $40 million state grant, all are supposed to break ground this year:

Tower on the Grand, a 25 floor 292 unit apartment building:






Capitol Tower, a 6 floor building with 80 apartments and 36k sq ft of office space:



Washington Square Apartments, an existing 10 floor office building converted into 60 apartments along with the demolition of a modern two floor office building nearby to build a 4 floor 100 space parking ramp with ground floor retail:

[DetroitMan]

This project will definitely have a positive impact on Downtown Lansing and will hopefully spur more development if it's successful. An article came out yesterday in the Lansing State Journal discussing the city council's possible approval of the New Vision project and others at their upcoming Monday council meeting.

Lansing City Council could OK new skyscraper, move of city hall

The City Council Monday could approve several hundred million dollars worth of downtown developments that will change the capital city's skyline.

After a delay in February, council members are expected to vote on a pair of $40 million state appropriations − for a new city hall and the city's first new skyscraper in decades − and they could hear some of the first details on a proposal for a new Grand Avenue headquarters for the Capital Area Transportation Authority. The two $40 million state appropriations are to move city hall into a renovated Masonic Temple just down the street on Capitol Avenue. The other would seed the $228 million riverfront skyscraper project that includes development of two other buildings and more than 400 new apartments.

Council members paused the city hall and apartment projects in February, saying they needed more time to look at how the projects were awarded to a pair of local developers and to propose changes to the plans. Council President Jeremy Garza said Thursday that he plans to vote for both proposals, after getting his questions answered and learning that the developers plan to hire local union labor.

He said the developers of the projects - the Boji Group for city hall and the Gentilozzi family for the New Vision Lansing housing projects - each lobbied state officials and were key in helping to get the appropriations in the most recent state budget. "I am super excited about the transformational money we're getting from the state," Garza said.

The city has been able to work through its approval process without strict deadlines from the state so far, said Scott Bean, a spokesperson for Mayor Andy Schor's office.

A state first: The chairs of the House and Senate appropriations committee are both from the Greater Lansing area, and the appropriations coincided with a "once in a generation influx of federal pandemic dollars," state Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, said in a statement Thursday. House Appropriations Committee "Chair (Angela) Witwer, (D-Delta Twp.) and I fought for this money, to give our capital city a direct infusion of resources to address important needs in our community: Housing and municipal services," Anthony said in the statement. "The administration and council need to work through their process — but let's be clear, this money is time bound. I hope we don't look back at this time in disappointment."

https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...l/72842746007/

[DetroitSky]

Those renderings of Tower on the Grand look like it could be taller than the roof height of Boji Tower but below the antenna height. Either way it'll dominate Lansing's skyline.

[subterranean]

It’s an awkward building and spacing - much too close to Grand Tower and will make the Lansing skyline look strange IMO.

[ColDayMan]

Originally Posted by subterranean

It’s an awkward building and spacing - much too close to Grand Tower and will make the Lansing skyline look strange IMO.

To be fair, isn't that par for the course in Michigan? Detroit = RenCen, Grand Rapids = River House, Kalamazoo = Skyrise, etc.