@ratchetwrench There's also been a couple of proposals by Lingg Brewer for the building next to the Wild Goose Inn. He had proposed remodeling the existing building and tearing down the white house on Division for a 3-4 floor addition. I'm not sure if he'll ever make it happen.
This development annoys me for a few reasons... first of all, even though this development is going to be very lucrative for the developers, they are opting to build a set of dull, cheap looking, vinyl-clad townhouses in an area full of nice old houses. Secondly, if the city is really committed to their long term vision of upsizing development in that area, they then need to make the zoning more restrictive. As it stands, it looks like the "Bigger Picture" comprehensive plan has no actual bite, relative to existing zoning regs.
I agree the houses they are going to tear down are much nicer than those ugly townhouses. They look like a public housing development, maybe not that nice.
Mich - I'd like to see the city restrict development in that area to a higher minimum height, consistent with the future use plan for most of the downtown area (https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/DocumentCenter/View/7258/Master-Plan-Draft-May-4-2018-PDF). According to map C1, those parcels are "zoned" M3, which is a 2 story minimum, 6 story max with special permission; this area probably should have been zoned M4, which requires a minimum of 4 stories. In either case, the buildings are supposed to be mixed use. However, according to the ELi article, the existing zoning (RM-32) follows the old regs, so Hagan legally can proceed with building/blighting their crappy 3 story student apartments into that neighborhood.
So what good is the future use plan if they can't use it to dictate building requirements???
It would also be nice if the future use plan had restrictions on materials, specifically to require builders to use higher quality materials, consistent with local historical structures and/or the newer commercial buildings closer to downtown.
Given Hagan's comments from the Eli article, it's pretty clear that they only care about their convenience and how much money they can squeeze from their desirable property near campus:
"At the meeting, Brian Hagan pushed back, noting the project as it stands is already an extremely profitable model for them. His brother, Matt Hagan, who isIn any regard, Brian Hagan is glad the approval process is over.
“The project we're presenting is a proven success for us already and it's perfect for the circumstances that we have in place,” Hagan said. Hagan Realty’s lead contractor, explained how the limitations of the lot and costs make the plan they submitted the most logical.
“This is the one that makes the most financial sense for this lot,” Matt Hagan said of the plan at the meeting."
This is EXACTLY why the city needs more bite to enforce its master development plan... the builders have little or no concern for how their development affects the local community.
Well that's a pretty good way to waste taxpayers time and money... generate a huge, complicated plan and don't bother to change the zoning code to enforce it!!! I think this says a lot about the competence, vs. ideology, of East Lansing's city leaders over the past several years...
The Biggby building isn't that notable. It's an old Arby's franchise if I remember right. But it is Biggby's first location, and having grown to the size that they are now I think the building should be landmarked. If Biggby continues to grow, people may come visit the location like the original Starbucks in Seattle.
Comments
If "Albert Town Homes 2" is the development proposal you're talking about I think it's pretty much dead/dormant now. EastLansingInfo has a good story on it, https://eastlansinginfo.org/content/downtown-development-proposal-limbo-following-council-inaction
@ratchetwrench There's also been a couple of proposals by Lingg Brewer for the building next to the Wild Goose Inn. He had proposed remodeling the existing building and tearing down the white house on Division for a 3-4 floor addition. I'm not sure if he'll ever make it happen.
That's the one I was thinking about hood, thanks for the info.
Jared- ELi has an update on the Albert townhomes/Hagan development. Apparently the proposal through ELCC:
https://eastlansinginfo.org/content/downtown-albert-avenue-project-comes-out-limbo
This development annoys me for a few reasons... first of all, even though this development is going to be very lucrative for the developers, they are opting to build a set of dull, cheap looking, vinyl-clad townhouses in an area full of nice old houses. Secondly, if the city is really committed to their long term vision of upsizing development in that area, they then need to make the zoning more restrictive. As it stands, it looks like the "Bigger Picture" comprehensive plan has no actual bite, relative to existing zoning regs.
Yeah, they need to apply their form-based zoning in more of the city.
I agree the houses they are going to tear down are much nicer than those ugly townhouses. They look like a public housing development, maybe not that nice.
Mich - I'd like to see the city restrict development in that area to a higher minimum height, consistent with the future use plan for most of the downtown area (https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/DocumentCenter/View/7258/Master-Plan-Draft-May-4-2018-PDF). According to map C1, those parcels are "zoned" M3, which is a 2 story minimum, 6 story max with special permission; this area probably should have been zoned M4, which requires a minimum of 4 stories. In either case, the buildings are supposed to be mixed use. However, according to the ELi article, the existing zoning (RM-32) follows the old regs, so Hagan legally can proceed with building/blighting their crappy 3 story student apartments into that neighborhood.
So what good is the future use plan if they can't use it to dictate building requirements???
It would also be nice if the future use plan had restrictions on materials, specifically to require builders to use higher quality materials, consistent with local historical structures and/or the newer commercial buildings closer to downtown.
Given Hagan's comments from the Eli article, it's pretty clear that they only care about their convenience and how much money they can squeeze from their desirable property near campus:
"At the meeting, Brian Hagan pushed back, noting the project as it stands is already an extremely profitable model for them. His brother, Matt Hagan, who isIn any regard, Brian Hagan is glad the approval process is over.
“The project we're presenting is a proven success for us already and it's perfect for the circumstances that we have in place,” Hagan said. Hagan Realty’s lead contractor, explained how the limitations of the lot and costs make the plan they submitted the most logical.
“This is the one that makes the most financial sense for this lot,” Matt Hagan said of the plan at the meeting."
This is EXACTLY why the city needs more bite to enforce its master development plan... the builders have little or no concern for how their development affects the local community.
Here's the East Lansing historical districts map:
https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/DocumentCenter/View/1100/Historic-District-PDF?bidId=
as you can see, almost the entire downtown area is penned in by historical districts
Well that's a pretty good way to waste taxpayers time and money... generate a huge, complicated plan and don't bother to change the zoning code to enforce it!!! I think this says a lot about the competence, vs. ideology, of East Lansing's city leaders over the past several years...
The Biggby building isn't that notable. It's an old Arby's franchise if I remember right. But it is Biggby's first location, and having grown to the size that they are now I think the building should be landmarked. If Biggby continues to grow, people may come visit the location like the original Starbucks in Seattle.