This project had so many strings to pull it never had that "this is going to happen" feeling about it. The site was not the greatest place to put this casino. I am not sure where they would have found space for parking and etc... I think the corner of Grand Ave. and Michigan Ave. would be the best place to build a hotel/casino if Lansing were to get one. There seem to be many casinos up north and in Detroit that are not located on an actual Reservation, just on land that the tribes own, so what was the difference in Lansing? I think Lansing should get to have a casino and I hope the Gaming Commission will provide a better explanation as to why we should not have one.
It sounded to me like the city negotiated the deal and it was easier to build it on city land so the city could collect lease payments. If the price was right I'm sure the casino could have found a parking lot owner who would have sold. With the shutdown going on, there may be a parking lot owner or two who are bleeding cash right now since nobody is commuting downtown and they would be in a position to sell to the casino group or other developer who has some cash on hand.
This project was officially dead the moment Trump was elected. It required approval by the federal government, and Trump has been openly hostile to Native American gaming (and Native Americans in general; I mean, he literally just decertified a tribe in Massaschusetts during this pandemic) since the second he got into the casino business. This was as a long shot before then; the project was effectively dead after that.
What a great leader -rumpsky is! When he is history[hopefully he will be before we are!] the tribe and the city should try again. That would be a great way to get people going downtown again, and would also be a plus for conventions and groups picking a place to hold their meetings. I think a small casino in a nice hotel would spark more development Downtown. Did Detroit's casinos require Federal approval?
Looks like at their meeting last month, the Lansing EDC is set to repurchase the small surface lot at the northwest corner of Michigan & Cedar next to the Lansing Center for $280,000, the price they sold it to the Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa back in 2012. You can tell in the parcel viewer that the parking lot directly behind this one is part of the Lansing Center parcel, and the city owns the surface lot directly behind the center. As always, these could always fit an expansion and hotel, and the lot behind could still contain parking undernearth like the current underground lot.
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