I wouldn't be surprised to see demolition start anytime, they said to expect a fall groundbreaking. I am surprised we haven't seen anything come before Council yet though.
I was by the site earlier an I'd say the flags are almost certainly related to this project as they are only on the Story Olds property. If I were to guess, I'd say they're in preparation to disconnect the current buildings utilities for demolition.
SkyVue will have a public hearing in front of the development and planning committee on August 24th. They are asking for $25 million in property tax abatements + interest. If approved, they are ready to start construction this fall.
While their feelings are understandable, they really need to lay off, their developments are far less likely to cannibalize each other than they are to eat away at the northern tier developments and the Hannah Lofts/Lodges among others. If these developers are angry it likely means that they planned on building lesser quality buildings, and now they'll be forced to upgrade their plans to be competitive. It's also worth mentioning that living in a nine floor building right on Michigan Ave is likely to be more prestigious than anything the Red Cedar development will have to offer unless plans have changed significantly. These developments are already winning based on location, access to amenities and transportation. I think competition amongst them can only be good for the community.
Were you watching the meeting? I'm curious how the owner/representative of the Sears property presented themselves. I would find it extremely hard to believe that Sears as a retailer would object to the project as it's unlikely to so much as impact their parking, and more people nearby generally means more customers. The fact that Gillespie owns/has the rights to such a large parcel in such an important location worries me. His developments leave much to be desired and he hasn't done anything even approaching the scale of what would be appropriate for that site.
I took a quick look through the packets and didn't see any elevations, only site plans and floor plans. I would agree that this building should be comfortably over 90' to the main roof, I wouldn't be surprised if the highest point is 120' or more.
I just moved here a couple of months ago after being away for a long time. I always fallowed Lansing developments however. I think that two developers kind of sparring over issues is kind of interesting and great since not one shovel has been turned. These areas are huge and Lansing should be very much concerned about what goes there. It would be great if they would insist on premier architectural design as part of any development. There seems to be a long lag time between plans being announced and when something actually gets built. I have seen plans for the old YMCA but it sits there looking worse each day. I have seen plans for the Lake Trust block, are they still going to build out that block? It also seems that in the time it takes to start building the design in many cases has been downgraded to something less attractive. Often the developers will blame the government for not getting all of the money and tax breaks they were expecting. Streamlining the process by having standards that are in place before any project is even proposed. If you want to build something on our major streets or downtown you must first have to meet these standards. If you want to build over a flood drain than you should have a plan for that does not require government funds. Maybe Lansing is at the point that we don't have to beg and bribe and subsidize developers to build something here.
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http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/08/05/skyvue-project-begin-fall/31159643/
Were you watching the meeting? I'm curious how the owner/representative of the Sears property presented themselves. I would find it extremely hard to believe that Sears as a retailer would object to the project as it's unlikely to so much as impact their parking, and more people nearby generally means more customers. The fact that Gillespie owns/has the rights to such a large parcel in such an important location worries me. His developments leave much to be desired and he hasn't done anything even approaching the scale of what would be appropriate for that site.