Nvmd

A poignant letter to the editor from this weeks City Pulse:

The last statement in Lawrence Cosentino´s story about the new Lansing City Market building is the phrase "history repeats itself." No need to time travel back to 1938 for that. One needs only look to the 1980s and the building of the Lansing Center on Michigan Avenue.

I was a reporter for the Lansing State Journal when the Lansing Center was built. Council members took the cheap way, saying they would spend the public´s money as if it were their own. Because the Council was afraid of big numbers, the Lansing Center was constructed without a kitchen. And, its skywalk was constructed without air conditioning. Later, both features were added at an expense greater than it would have cost if included in the original plans. That was not responsible. Spending public money for public good means thinking big because the public good is big.

As for the aesthetics: the new city market is a traditional shape. It looks similar to the central market buildings at Detroit´s Eastern Market, except theirs are brick. I´m not for holding a bake sale to add brick fascia. Let´s budget for it.

— ­Dedria A. Humphries Barker, Lansing

Seems this is more prevelant an opinion on this new project than I thought, and by people who've seen this all before, at that.

Another:

We should be congratulating ourselves as having the most stylish grain elevator in mid-Michigan!

This whole project was sold based on some very indistinct drawings that led us all to believe that the final market would have wispy turn-of-the-century ironwork, lots of glass and generally pleasant architecture. I opposed it at the time because it was too small and the parking plan made no sense at all. This thing looks at home in Shipshewana, Ind., as a flea market, and I feel duped. Look nearby at the Oldsmobile Stadium: not groundbreaking style, but livable, and not particularly expensive. Why could it not have been designed as harmlessly as that?

—Don From [url=www.LansingCityPulse.com

The last two sentences of this one kind of sum it up. No one criticizing the architecture ever called for some architectural masterpiece, rather calling for something more solid and something that looked like the architect and city put at least ten minutes of thought into the facade. The old city market is hardly stunning architecture, but the facade required skilled tradesmen to build it, including masions/brick layers and stone cutters. It shows that they tried. Let's be clear, if a good, swift wind blows through, one day, it's going to rip the aluminium sheet metal from the steel frame. lol This doesn't just show a small budget, it shows general thoughtlessness and a smack in the face to the old market, which, again, was by no means stunning architecture.

I don't mind someone who believes the market will be a plus because it will function at least as well as, if not better than, the current one. But to pretend that it's architectural superior, or even matches the thoughtfulness put into the old market, is either being ignorant or self-deceiving. The idea that it somehow shows that we can do "rural in the city" is really kind of a silly point, too. A city/farmer's market, by its very existence, proves that we can do "rural in the city". Bad architecture doesn't add to that proof. If anything, it takes away from it.

Nope, the process was adequate and necessary considering that this is a public facility. The result is a result of the architects being hamstrung from the very beginning by a grossly prohibitive budget, which itself was the result of the city administration and council not pushing harder for a better payoff during negotiations, mr. city official. Studio Intrigue -- which is an awesome, young local firm that does a lot of working nationally -- and the USDA could only work with what they were given, essentially be sacked/sandbagged from the very front-end of the process by no consequence of their own.

It's essentially asking someone to build an impressive sand-castle after you've dumped a pile of mud and some rusty tools in front of them to work with. In this case, the architects and contractors were asked to build a city market that would at least be respectful (in the skills required to build the old one) of the one we already have, but dumped a prefab kit complete with a few hundred yards of cheap, corrugated sheet metal (with the gall and offense to try and gussy it up with colored paint as if that somehow makes it more attractive) and some insulation, all directly across the river and almost in the physical shadow of one of the most impressive art deco brick buildings in the entire nation.

It's funny, because every time I think about this trying to find the good in it, I'm only more disappointed. Mr. city official, go find some grant or some stimulus money for this public, shovel-ready project so that we can at least brick this baby up, okay?

It's not the most architecturally stunning of buildings, but the Royal Oak farmer's market got some press today in the Freep for renovating its kitchen. It's an open floor plan building that's packed on market days - everything I think we'd love the Lansing City Market to be.

Also, here's a video from another paper about the market.

I think the restraunt will be a great addition to the market. It should really add an interesting element to the riverfront. If the market does well, which with these kinds of businesses it should, it ought to make improvements much more likely. I think a recladding is possible and the
mezzanine level is fairly likely to happen in the next five years or so..

Basically finished, in all of her glory.

Front entrance



Looking North



Looking South



Looking Northeast



It surprises me that even the awnings don't seem to do anything for the building. If anything, they look like a tacted-on after-thought and don't fit the architecture. Meh.

eh... its just 'there' for me... it could've been so much more.. ah, well... at least Lansing has a new city market!

Made it down there very late because of work, about 15 minutes before their closing at 5:00, though, upon looking it didn't seem that they were packing up to leave. Anyway, my observations:

- Despite my bitter criticism of the exterior architecture (and that hasn't changed), I'd always said that this market would function as well as, if not better than, the old market. I wasn't wrong. I wasn't sure how I'd like the layout, but it's just great. You have the larger vendors such as bakeries, restaurants, and such along the walls, and the smaller vendors clustered around the middle. You see just about all of the businesses when entering the front of the market. It has a convention center-type feel; I'd almost say it feels a lot like the main hall of the adjacent Lansing Center. My only criticism of the layout is kind of related to the spaciousness. Because the hall is so high and cavernous -- which you'd probably not guess from the outside -- it's not as intimate and friendly as the old market. This impersonal feeling could be lessened, quite a bit, if they ever get the second-level mezzanine in place to kind of break-up the space.

- My second observation is that though it was crowded even near the end, they (LEPFA) really should have seen to the move being more seamless. I realize that they absolutely HAD to open it, now, since the vendors were beginning to lose days and thus money, but that so few vendors were open, and that those they weren't had equipment so scattered around their 'stalls' really didn't leave the best first impression.

- The relocation of the market just a feet away from the other one and closer to the river made more of a difference than I thought it would. The view out of the west entrance across the river is just amazing, and will be even more so in the Spring and Summer when the place gets hopping, and will REALLY be awesome once AF finishes their headquarters next year, as well as Market Place getting started. They'll have a built-in customer base just meters away, and I can't ever see them withering away like some of the vendors at the old market. I'd really suggest to them cutting some windows into the east facade so that people can get views of the stadium, though. I talked to Alice (she was next to the cheese man in the old market), and she was really pleased with the new place and said she hadn't ever been this busy, and though it was because of opening day it was even more so because of the layout.

All in all, I was very, very impressed; more so than I thought I was going to be. If they can just find the money for a brick-and-stone facade, and if LEPFA just becomes a bit more attention to detail in general (the logistics of the move weren't as thought out as they should have been), this will be a roaring success.

BTW, does anyone remember the dates the development agreement set for the demolition of the old market, and when construction on Market Place has to begin? I do remember there being deadlines for the opening of the new market, demolition of the old one, and at least a groundbreaking for Market Place.

Wasn't sure where to place it, but thought I'd put it here since it's in the development area. Oldsmobile Park is FINALLY getting a new name: Cooley Law School Stadium. A member of Cooley's Board of Directors, James Butler, felt that this would be "very good for attraction of new students." I think that might be a stretch, as the Park is hardly known outside the Lansing area, but hopefully this deal brings some cash and (possibly) renovations.

Shopping and Skating

The city is applying for a grant to build a year-round outdoor skating rink near the City Market. This would be another great addition to that area.

Interesting news out of Grand Rapids today on their efforts to build an urban market downtown.

GRAND RAPIDS -- A dilapidated produce distribution center at the southern end of downtown could become a hub of commerce for local farmers, food makers and artisans as part of a $27 million urban market concept unveiled Wednesday.

Grand Action, the private group that led efforts to build the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place, said it would forge ahead with plans to develop an urban market offering space for vendors to create and sell a variety of foods and other goods.

The market also is envisioned as an educational facility with a greenhouse, demonstration kitchen and meeting rooms that will help people better understand local food systems while teaching about healthier eating.