Hopefully we can also get some ground floor retail/entertainment on N Washington also. All-in-all I'm pretty happy with the bar & resturaunt development downtown.
I just worked out at the downtown YMCA and the upstairs expansion is well underway. The walls are all knocked out and plastic up for the construction going on in the north portion of the upstairs. Downtown had lots of foot traffic on Washington Sq. today, it was great. Most likely alot of it was from the Women's Expo, but still, it's good that people are exploring downtown, and not just going to the Lansing Center and then immediately leaving.
Also, I was talking to the owner of TedDees and he made a comment I thought was interesting. He said he'd like to see Blues on the Square move to Allegan instead of Washington...he thought it would open things up more for people to get to explore more of Washington Sq. while they're downtown for the concert. I thought that was intriguing, as it would allow cars to still come up and down Washington, and since Allegan is one-way, they'd only have to close off one end of the street...leaving the other end open to be more open to foot traffic.
Anyone have a different perspective, or see a reason it wouldn't be that way?
I think some of the bars like Blues on the Square on Washington Sq because their customers can sit within their patio area and drink alcohol. This wouldn't be possible if it moved to Allegan.
Yeah, that it's one the square is an actual selling point. At least for those times, cars need to be thought of secondly, not firstly.
I'm aslo hoping that as downtown develops, Grand will be planned as something more than the "backhouse" it currently is for Washington Square and will bring Washington closer to the river, if that makes any sense. Right now, you have Washington, then the dead-space that's Grand and then the upcoming district on East Michigan and on the east bank (Stadium District). I want to see a solid, walkable core that stretches from Washington to Larch.
Good points...cars getting through was one reason, and I would agree with you that in this case they should be 2nd, but I was also thinking that having it on Allegan would allow the end of the block at Allegan and Washington to remain open which might facilitate more walking traffic around the area. With both ends of the 200 block closed people tend to go right to that block and not visit the shops off of it and I thought this might open it up more. As I said though, I got the idea put in my head by the owner of TedDees who obviously has a bias (can't blame him for it though). But I see your point, that the move might hurt the atmosphere that you get from closing Washington Sq. FYI, they're going to be moving Blues on the Sq. two years from now and possibly next year b/c of the CSO work on Allegan this summer and on Washington next summer. If you have good ideas/concerns, you probably should contact the PSD (I think they're at least partially in charge of that).
I also 100% agree about getting Washington "closer" to the river. I think moving Troppos across the street and tavern up there will connect the two corridors more than now, towards that goal. At the DNA meeting Bob Tresizde said they've been thinking about changing Grand Ave. to two-way to facilitate what you were saying. On a side-note, he also mentioned that the light poles haven't been put on Grand since the CSO work because although they were ordered, they were late getting to Lansing and by the time they got here the freeze already occured and they have to wait for the thaw now. That's also the reason the asphalt is still on the sidewalks for now. As I keep remembering these things from the DNA meeting I will continue to post them.
Along with the stimulus request shown in the paper, yesterday, the Lansing EDC has also submitted its request to the Economic Development Administration (something seperate from the stimulus, I believe) for projects it wants to do. One of the big ones that caught my eye:
• $1 million to redevelop the Deluxe Inn on Main Street
• $1 million to purchase and rehab a Washington Square building into a mixed-use development
• $2 million for utilities associated with any Jackson National Life Insurance Co. expansion
• $2 million for a Lansing SmartZone BioBusiness incubator
• $2 million for a Lansing downtown SmartZone business incubator
• $2 million for River Trail and pedestrian path to accompany the Capitol Club Tower project
• $3 million for fiber optics to be part of the Holmes Street School renovation
• $3 million for River Trail and pedestrian path for the new City Market site
• $20 million for Museum Drive redevelopment
• $25 million for a rehab project involving the River Trail and a pedestrian path
• $30 million for Lansing Center expansion
Now, I'm trying to think of a vacant building on Washington Square that could be both purchased and renovated for a mere $1 million. It's definitely not the Knapps, but I can't think of anything else.
Name a few fully-vacant buildings along the Square. I'm having a hard time remembering any.
EDIT: Anyone know if Dimitri's at 104 South Washington (directly south of the Washington Square Building at the southwest corner of Washington and Michigan) is still open? If it's not, I'm pretty sure that that building is vacant. It's 3 stories (brown brick-paneled), and city records show one section was completed in 1864 and the other in 1934. The building is only valued at around $170,000.
Check this out. I was just searching through LostLansing.com and found these awesome shots of the Civic Center Arena (now the site of Constitution Hall). One of the most intriguing of these is what planners originally envisioned for this entire area.
1953 (just look at the entire neighborhood that was taken out by all of the susequent surface parking lots):
Now, the concept:
Notice the new state office building on order that was to stand were the Transportation Building now stands. We could have had an honest-to-goodness skyscraper. lol
Comments
Anyone have a different perspective, or see a reason it wouldn't be that way?
I'm aslo hoping that as downtown develops, Grand will be planned as something more than the "backhouse" it currently is for Washington Square and will bring Washington closer to the river, if that makes any sense. Right now, you have Washington, then the dead-space that's Grand and then the upcoming district on East Michigan and on the east bank (Stadium District). I want to see a solid, walkable core that stretches from Washington to Larch.
I also 100% agree about getting Washington "closer" to the river. I think moving Troppos across the street and tavern up there will connect the two corridors more than now, towards that goal. At the DNA meeting Bob Tresizde said they've been thinking about changing Grand Ave. to two-way to facilitate what you were saying. On a side-note, he also mentioned that the light poles haven't been put on Grand since the CSO work because although they were ordered, they were late getting to Lansing and by the time they got here the freeze already occured and they have to wait for the thaw now. That's also the reason the asphalt is still on the sidewalks for now. As I keep remembering these things from the DNA meeting I will continue to post them.
Now, I'm trying to think of a vacant building on Washington Square that could be both purchased and renovated for a mere $1 million. It's definitely not the Knapps, but I can't think of anything else.
EDIT: Anyone know if Dimitri's at 104 South Washington (directly south of the Washington Square Building at the southwest corner of Washington and Michigan) is still open? If it's not, I'm pretty sure that that building is vacant. It's 3 stories (brown brick-paneled), and city records show one section was completed in 1864 and the other in 1934. The building is only valued at around $170,000.
1953 (just look at the entire neighborhood that was taken out by all of the susequent surface parking lots):
Now, the concept:
Notice the new state office building on order that was to stand were the Transportation Building now stands. We could have had an honest-to-goodness skyscraper. lol
She was an ugly thing, but I miss her.