Ann elevation of the Ann St apartments from the council packet:
The packet also mentioned a redevelopment proposal for 514 Michigan Ave. I found this on the project "A public hearing will be held to consider an application from Wolf River Development Company, LLC for Site Plan and Special Use Permit approval for the property at 514 Michigan Avenue to demolish the existing building and construct a mixed-use building with 1200 square feet of retail or office space and 16 apartment units with 4 bedrooms each. The property is zoned B-2, Retail Sales Business District" - Public Hearing Notices
I think it is 99' 4" to the penthouse roof, and the overall height is 107.' You can see the larger version of the elevation on page 171 of the April 3rd meeting packet. (pdf download)
Paul Vlahakis has bought the El Azteco building. He already owned the building to the east of it, and said that he has plans to tear down the buildings and replace them with a mixed-used development. He says that the project likely won't start construction for 24-36 months. It seems that he is pretty early in the planning stages based on that timeline.
With this project, the entire block between Grove and MAC will have been redeveloped within a 3 year timespan.
The State News has now also posted an article about the El Azteco building. It runs along the same vein of what Jared already mentioned with the LSJ article.
Additionally, however, it quotes Vlahakis stating that "there’s going to be a development there, when it is redeveloped El Azteco will still remain the way it’s been for the last (36) years." I don't know if that means he's going to tear it down and replace it with a building that keeps that style, or if he's just going to redevelop around the property. I'm guessing the former.
The State News is also reporting that the EL City Council granted the Anne St. Lofts a fifth floor. This one is pretty interesting, as it appears the Anne St. developers just started building a fifth floor without City approval, and the City then realized it had to deal with it. Conditions for the fifth floor include weekly safety updates to the council, limiting occupancy for one and two bedroom apartments in the building to families or no more than two unrelated residents, and eliminating roof access from the building’s north side on the fifth floor.
They slapped them with a $1,000 "fine," which to me is sort of like those fines given to athletes for saying something disparaging about the referees after a game. Too bad the City couldn't make a stand here like they finally did with Strathmore over City Center II, but, with this project in the building phase, they sort of had to suck it up I suppose.
After reading multiple articles about the Vlahakis development (sorry, I don't have links available anymore), I got the impression that this is going to be a complete teardown. The new building was described to be multiple floors, but will have El Azteco as a tenant along with a 2nd floor patio as part of their restaurant.
Regarding the St Annes Lofts. Has anyone else noticed that they look nothing like the pre-construction renderings? Not even close. Also, there is a giant stone cross on the front of the building. It looks strange. I know they built an extra floor, and that was very controversial, but I'm wondering if the builders just created a whole new set of blueprints mid- construction.
I didn't know there was a story about the cross. I'm not trying to suggest that the cross is intentional or a conspiracy. In fact, I think it's worse if it's accidental. Did they even hire an architect for the final plans? Btw, the cross makes it look like a diocese or a soup kitchen. No matter what it's meant to be, it's bad design. Thankfully, with big new projects on both sides of St Annes, hopefully it won't be as noticeable.
MichMatters, do you remember where you saw that story?
Btw, I am generally a fan of the St Annes developers. They've invested a lot in Lansing and GR and have some classy establishments. I just don't know what happened with this project. I'm intrigued.
Thanks for the info, MichMatters. I'll try to find those articles. Not sure how I missed them.
Looking at the bright side, the new building next store looks to be on schedule, and it really changes the feel on MAC and Albert. Plus, Hopcat should be open in August!
Comments
The packet also mentioned a redevelopment proposal for 514 Michigan Ave. I found this on the project "A public hearing will be held to consider an application from Wolf River Development Company, LLC for Site Plan and Special Use Permit approval for the property at 514 Michigan Avenue to demolish the existing building and construct a mixed-use building with 1200 square feet of retail or office space and 16 apartment units with 4 bedrooms each. The property is zoned B-2, Retail Sales Business District" - Public Hearing Notices
With this project, the entire block between Grove and MAC will have been redeveloped within a 3 year timespan.
Additionally, however, it quotes Vlahakis stating that "there’s going to be a development there, when it is redeveloped El Azteco will still remain the way it’s been for the last (36) years." I don't know if that means he's going to tear it down and replace it with a building that keeps that style, or if he's just going to redevelop around the property. I'm guessing the former.
The State News is also reporting that the EL City Council granted the Anne St. Lofts a fifth floor. This one is pretty interesting, as it appears the Anne St. developers just started building a fifth floor without City approval, and the City then realized it had to deal with it. Conditions for the fifth floor include weekly safety updates to the council, limiting occupancy for one and two bedroom apartments in the building to families or no more than two unrelated residents, and eliminating roof access from the building’s north side on the fifth floor.
They slapped them with a $1,000 "fine," which to me is sort of like those fines given to athletes for saying something disparaging about the referees after a game. Too bad the City couldn't make a stand here like they finally did with Strathmore over City Center II, but, with this project in the building phase, they sort of had to suck it up I suppose.
MichMatters, do you remember where you saw that story?
Looking at the bright side, the new building next store looks to be on schedule, and it really changes the feel on MAC and Albert. Plus, Hopcat should be open in August!