What confuses me about the dilneated flood plain graphics is that the "blue" bar showing the river rises well above the terrain. Is that supposed to show the river at its worst flood stage? I You can see the building closer to Michigan Avenue. I still don't get what I'm looking at with the vertical blue bar elevated above the land.
You guys should read the City Pulse's story on the project this week. It seems the questions of what happened to the Jeromes is answered pretty definitively, and boy do they sound like a piece of work (disclaimer: I know Ferguson in passing). It sounds like the lawsuit might has some impact on the project, but even in the best case scenario for the Jeromes it sounds like a long-shot. For one, they bizarrely filed the suit in suburban Chicago, because it's where Chris Jerome lives. lol
Anyway, a kind of notable piece of news is that the site plan we keep seeing in the media is actually old. The newer site plan - and it's clear its newer as it doesn't include the Jerome's land - is quite a bit different. I think I actually like it more, if even it's considerably smaller, because it appears that it has a "main street" and with a smaller site, you'll have taller buildings:
It also appears that the new site plan is probably only of the first phase, as even without the auto dealership lands, there is still a lot more land to the southeast not pictured.
Yeah that site plan on the right is the one that's repeated throughout Ferguson's packet. The outlined area is labeled as a parking plinth, I was going to try to copy that rendering over here myself.
The whole lawsuit thing doesn't much matter to me so long as it doesn't effect the project. On the surface Jerome's argument seems pretty flimsy though, I don't see how he offered anything worthwhile besides land.
Thanks for that. I had to look up exactly what a plinth was, and it's really just another name for a podium. So, it sounds like at least this section will sit a floor above the surrounding plane. It'll be interesting to see exactly how they do that. What I'm still curious about is if it just means building a single level of parking that will bring the "front-door" of the development up to Michigan Avenue's elevation, or if we're talking about a podium where the first level will start a floor above Michigan Avenue.
I skimmed through all the packets, but didn't go in-depth enough to make the distinction between examples of development and his actual rough concept for the site.
It appears that the council officially posted notice to the drain commissioner to start the process for the revitalization of the drain. Apparently, two governments in the jurisdiction have to petition the drain commissioner before he or she can begin the process of a drain project. Lansing has to have one more meeting to pass this after the public hearing, and they expect Ingham County to go through the process, too. When that happens, the drain commissioner can start formal planning.
As far as I know, this is the last major hurdle for the project before they can begin site work (assuming they already have all of the financing lined up).
A three-member drain committee for the drain board approved moving forward with the project. Lansing and Ingham County spoke out in favor of this, while East Lansing, Lansing Township and Frandor tried to derail this. I'm not exactly sure who this drain committee consisted of, but it was a unanimous decision, though I was really disappointed - though not surprised - to see East Lansing and Lansing Township trying to throw a monkey wrench in things.
LANSING — A judge has ruled a lawsuit against the city over a planned drain project near the Red Cedar River can be dismissed.
Ingham County Circuit Judge Clinton Canady III today ruled that Lansing Retail Center LLC, which owns the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing, was premature in suing the city of Lansing over drain work because it hasn’t suffered actual losses due to the project.
Lansing Retail Center LLC in April sued the city over a project to upgrade what’s known as the Montgomery Drain, which runs through Frandor and empties into the Red Cedar River. Ingham County Drain Commissioner Patrick Lindemann plans to redesign the drain to prevent storm runoff from flowing into the river.
I really think this is crazy. At the end of the day, Red Cedar Renaissance is going to increase shopping at Frandor, too, but they seem to think it's purely competition. If Frandor was quicker to respond to changing tastes, they wouldn't even have to worry about the idea of competition. Yet, they've largely set on their center tweaking it around the edges and knowing that it was an outdated concept, but since they are the only game in town in that immediate location, they have no incentive to change. Well, guess what, Frandor? You're getting dragged into the 21st century. Oh, and the pollution you've gotten away with funneling into the Red Cedar with no recorse? Yeah, you're going to have to finally chip in a little for that, too.
I can't understand why they've sued before they even have any idea what the plan will look like or how much they'll have to contribute for it. I do understand that they don't want to pay for aesthetic improvements directly related to Ferguson's development, but it doesn't seem they're going about it in a very good way either. Hopefully this will be the last we hear of this unless they have legitimate concerns down the road.
But, aren't they paying for the drain improvements? I wasn't aware they were directly paying for design elements of the development on the site. It's been known from Day One that this before anything else is a required drain project that had to be done regardless. It just so happens that to help pay for the drain project, they sought a developer to make it more feasible. I guess the point is that any business in the assessment district was going to be assessed anyway, private development or not. I have never been under the impression that the assessed businesses are paying Ferguson directly for anything. This money goes to the Drain Commission.
Comments
Anyway, a kind of notable piece of news is that the site plan we keep seeing in the media is actually old. The newer site plan - and it's clear its newer as it doesn't include the Jerome's land - is quite a bit different. I think I actually like it more, if even it's considerably smaller, because it appears that it has a "main street" and with a smaller site, you'll have taller buildings:
It also appears that the new site plan is probably only of the first phase, as even without the auto dealership lands, there is still a lot more land to the southeast not pictured.
The whole lawsuit thing doesn't much matter to me so long as it doesn't effect the project. On the surface Jerome's argument seems pretty flimsy though, I don't see how he offered anything worthwhile besides land.
I skimmed through all the packets, but didn't go in-depth enough to make the distinction between examples of development and his actual rough concept for the site.
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20140623/NEWS01/306230050/Lawsuit-over-Lansing-s-Red-Cedar-drain-project-could-dismissed
As far as I know, this is the last major hurdle for the project before they can begin site work (assuming they already have all of the financing lined up).
I really think this is crazy. At the end of the day, Red Cedar Renaissance is going to increase shopping at Frandor, too, but they seem to think it's purely competition. If Frandor was quicker to respond to changing tastes, they wouldn't even have to worry about the idea of competition. Yet, they've largely set on their center tweaking it around the edges and knowing that it was an outdated concept, but since they are the only game in town in that immediate location, they have no incentive to change. Well, guess what, Frandor? You're getting dragged into the 21st century. Oh, and the pollution you've gotten away with funneling into the Red Cedar with no recorse? Yeah, you're going to have to finally chip in a little for that, too.