I found the just-released "Tri-County Hazard Mitigation Plan" interesting not for the hazard part, but for its future population projections (which are, presumably, just taken from somewhere else). East Lansing (within Ingham county) 2005 population 45,576, 2010 was 45,535, projected 2045 is 46,820. Lansing (within Ingham county) 2005 was 110,180, 2010 was 107,461, projected 2045 is 121,133. What about the 'burbs? Meridian Twp 2005 was 38,556, 2010 was 38,493, projected 2045 is 40,476. Not much change expected at all. Other interesting stats at the link.
It is nice to see local companies doing well. Especially when they're downtown.
(I did just learn today that New York Burrito is closing / has closed. Sadness. I think last time I was in there, actually, they were complaining that there were too many sandwich shops downtown now. There you go.)
I hope that the expansion on Larch St will match with the area, the last thing we need is another pole barn or similarly low quality building. Also, now would be a good time to reiterate how nice it would be if they had storefront there, a part of me feels like that's actually kind of likely with this expansion.
They *could* also build the expansion in the same style as the Showroom Shine detail shop that was built with the option of adding on extra floors in the future. This would allow some eventual apartments/lofts on top without tearing down the structure, giving us something close to the Abrams Lofts project.
I may have mentioned it here before, but I really think that something big has to happen before downtown has chance at attracting national retailers. The only way I can think to boost downtown retail is to build an urban mall. Something around 4-8 floors with a half-block footprint would go well in Lansing, similar to the mall portion of Water Tower Place in Chicago.
If you're talking about the parking lot I'm thinking of... I don't like it either, but I also don't think I'd like another building so close to the Capitol. It should be... you should be led up to the Capitol in grand fashion. Some good landscaping at least, perhaps a memorial or some appropriately themed artwork. Perhaps preserve the parking underground if the legislators really would insist on parking so close. (As someone who doesn't even own a car, it does amaze me to hear people talk about how terrible it is when they're forced to park a block or two away from their destination - just, not the way I live my life is all.)
I'd also be strongly against any new buildings on the Capitol grounds, but I also support doing away with all parking on the grounds. I agree on the point of adding benches around the grounds to help it function better as a park, but I'd also note that the entire grounds could use a rehab/redesign.
Regarding the Senate's new building, I can't imagine any other likely options besides City Hall and Capitol View. They could build on the site of the Tower parking ramp or Constitution Hall, but those seem like long shots. Another thought is that they could build a building in the Capitol Complex similar to the Williams Building, but I'm not sure if the rest of the underground garage was designed to be built on top of, I kinda doubt it though.
It's always great to see another company relocate to the area, especially as this will be a fairly large supplier for the area with a 430k sq ft facility and over 400 jobs. As best I can tell, this will be going up on N Grand River, right across from the Marathon (I think it's still Marathon) distribution place.
The Penfil Apartments are featured in City Pulse's Eyesore of the week, in the article they mention that the owners say the building will be reopened by October as the Avenue Apartments. October would seem a little optimistic for completion, but it's good to have it confirmed that this building is being rehabbed.
Comments
(I did just learn today that New York Burrito is closing / has closed. Sadness. I think last time I was in there, actually, they were complaining that there were too many sandwich shops downtown now. There you go.)
Regarding the Senate's new building, I can't imagine any other likely options besides City Hall and Capitol View. They could build on the site of the Tower parking ramp or Constitution Hall, but those seem like long shots. Another thought is that they could build a building in the Capitol Complex similar to the Williams Building, but I'm not sure if the rest of the underground garage was designed to be built on top of, I kinda doubt it though.
It's always great to see another company relocate to the area, especially as this will be a fairly large supplier for the area with a 430k sq ft facility and over 400 jobs. As best I can tell, this will be going up on N Grand River, right across from the Marathon (I think it's still Marathon) distribution place.
Eyesore of the week - Penfil Apartments