My bad... I did mean to the west! Very good points about the narrowness of this plot in regards to drive-throughs. I still think a high rise with well thought out first floor drive-throughs could work. I'm pretty sure I've seen considerably worse in denser urban areas, although I can't think of any specific examples at the moment.
Yeah, this is a tight space. I definitely would not like to see anymore fast food restaurants over here. (Taco Bell and Wendy's are the best anyways). There are too many real food options over here to waste space on fast food. I could see this space going either way......either as a green space with public art and maintain the view of the train station from Trowbridge, or as some sort of higher density development.
But let's face it, it's not going to be an open entry way for art. Where's the value in that? It's more valuable as parking. So, I guess I'm with Ratchet -- Why not build an 8-story housing project with commercial ground level. Market demand would fill it up immediately. True, Trowbridge will never be walkable. Who cares? The rest of the area is. A tower would get you great views of campus, south campus farms, downtown Lansing and you would be able to see the emerging skylines in EL and Frandor. With the new hospital opening not too far away, I would be all over this site as a developer.
My goal at Trowbridge would be to continue in the trend of larger urban buildings so that people arriving in town feel like they're entering a big REAL city, not some generic suburban exit.
Yeah, I agree -- it would be TERRIFYING to be in an apt south of Trowbridge when the trains come through. I remember sleeping over at a friend's house in Spartan Village right by the tracks and when the freights passed in the night I woke up each time thinking it was a tornado or earthquake or something!!
I'm really happy to hear that Bigby is moving in to the old QD building (that will always remain the QD to me ) I commend Bigby on their choice of locations, throughout their entire existence, from small town main streets to city centers to idle strip malls in densely populated areas to up-and-coming neighborhoods. I live in Detroit and Bigby's has franchises here that came WAY ahead of Starbucks and all the new independent coffee shops. (that said, some have been put out of business BECAUSE Starbucks did eventually arrive with a bang).
In terms of this site on Trowbridge, it's telling that Bigby went for the QD property I'm sure entirely because it has drive-thru capacity, versus the corner property that is probably more comfortable and already set up for a food service business w/ kitchen (woks included??).
Will be interesting to see what happens at Trowbridge over the next fews years! Definitely a transitional area.
The Park Place development is now looking to set the height of their Park Place East building (the one on Abbot Rd) to 14 stores (140 feet). The Planning Commission voted against endorsing a proposed ordinance for this and the DDA voted for the proposed ordinance. The DDA also entered in to a contract to sell the properties on the condition that all approvals are met, etc.
The city expects to receive the formal site plan on Monday, December 17th.
I hope they will find at least one new name for these two developments, Park Place and The Park District are too similar and hard to keep straight which development is being discussed. I would think that shadow canyons[you can see the shadow effect on E. Mich. Ave. where the new Avenue building cast a shadow over the north side of the street] these buildings will cause could be a problem for the neighbors, but this seems to be one of the better areas to build tall buildings. I know people here have been waiting years for these developments to begin and it is very cool that they are going to start very soon. [knock on wood!]
Now that the 10ish story buildings are up downtown, I think it is becoming obvious that they are not the overpowering monoliths that the EL NIMBY's feared. So why not go higher!
Wasn't the height limit just increased from 120 to 140 feet for Park Place? There is definitely a proposal that is the cause for an increase to 160. It could be Park Place wanting to go higher. If not there, maybe we'll finally see a proposal for the lot behind Peanut Barrel?
Comments
My bad... I did mean to the west! Very good points about the narrowness of this plot in regards to drive-throughs. I still think a high rise with well thought out first floor drive-throughs could work. I'm pretty sure I've seen considerably worse in denser urban areas, although I can't think of any specific examples at the moment.
Yeah, this is a tight space. I definitely would not like to see anymore fast food restaurants over here. (Taco Bell and Wendy's are the best anyways). There are too many real food options over here to waste space on fast food. I could see this space going either way......either as a green space with public art and maintain the view of the train station from Trowbridge, or as some sort of higher density development.
But let's face it, it's not going to be an open entry way for art. Where's the value in that? It's more valuable as parking. So, I guess I'm with Ratchet -- Why not build an 8-story housing project with commercial ground level. Market demand would fill it up immediately. True, Trowbridge will never be walkable. Who cares? The rest of the area is. A tower would get you great views of campus, south campus farms, downtown Lansing and you would be able to see the emerging skylines in EL and Frandor. With the new hospital opening not too far away, I would be all over this site as a developer.
My goal at Trowbridge would be to continue in the trend of larger urban buildings so that people arriving in town feel like they're entering a big REAL city, not some generic suburban exit.
Yeah, I agree -- it would be TERRIFYING to be in an apt south of Trowbridge when the trains come through. I remember sleeping over at a friend's house in Spartan Village right by the tracks and when the freights passed in the night I woke up each time thinking it was a tornado or earthquake or something!!
I'm really happy to hear that Bigby is moving in to the old QD building (that will always remain the QD to me
) I commend Bigby on their choice of locations, throughout their entire existence, from small town main streets to city centers to idle strip malls in densely populated areas to up-and-coming neighborhoods. I live in Detroit and Bigby's has franchises here that came WAY ahead of Starbucks and all the new independent coffee shops. (that said, some have been put out of business BECAUSE Starbucks did eventually arrive with a bang).
In terms of this site on Trowbridge, it's telling that Bigby went for the QD property I'm sure entirely because it has drive-thru capacity, versus the corner property that is probably more comfortable and already set up for a food service business w/ kitchen (woks included??).
Will be interesting to see what happens at Trowbridge over the next fews years! Definitely a transitional area.
The Park Place development is now looking to set the height of their Park Place East building (the one on Abbot Rd) to 14 stores (140 feet). The Planning Commission voted against endorsing a proposed ordinance for this and the DDA voted for the proposed ordinance. The DDA also entered in to a contract to sell the properties on the condition that all approvals are met, etc.
The city expects to receive the formal site plan on Monday, December 17th.
https://eastlansinginfo.org/content/dda-unanimously-approves-contract-park-place-developers
I hope they will find at least one new name for these two developments, Park Place and The Park District are too similar and hard to keep straight which development is being discussed. I would think that shadow canyons[you can see the shadow effect on E. Mich. Ave. where the new Avenue building cast a shadow over the north side of the street] these buildings will cause could be a problem for the neighbors, but this seems to be one of the better areas to build tall buildings. I know people here have been waiting years for these developments to begin and it is very cool that they are going to start very soon. [knock on wood!]
That is a good one!
Valley Court! Great name
Now that the 10ish story buildings are up downtown, I think it is becoming obvious that they are not the overpowering monoliths that the EL NIMBY's feared. So why not go higher!