The only major building downtown in need of renovation is Knapps, unless some other building thats still in use is rehabbed. I would love to see the 5/3 building rehabbed or replaced, but I don't expect that anytime soon.
It looks like Lansing might get a high speed rail to connect to Chicago and Detroit. The high speed rail plan that President Obama introduced shows what could be a line connecting Chicago to Detroit through Lansing. According to the article, "the Transportation Department has expedited the process [to allocate money towards specific projects] and would begin awarding funds to "ready" projects by the end of the summer."
This would be really great to see! It doesn't look like it will connect to Grand Rapids though. I think that would be something to add in the future.
The Detroit Free Press also has an article on the subject. This article talks about connecting Chicago with Detroit, and then, I would assume based on the cities listed, a system that would go south from The D to Toledo, Cincy, and then Lexington, KY.
Kind of OT: What drives me crazy about newspaper articles being online now is everyone's ability to comment on them. The commenting that goes on in this forum is civil and appropriate the majority of the time, but these newspaper comments are totally out-of-whack, because individuals who post know that there's no accountability for whatever they say. Just wanted to get that off my chest.
I've actually written to the editors of the Detroit Free Press and the Lansing State Journal about the comments section. I've suggested that if they want to keep readership they go the way of the Detroit News where the only way you see the comments is if you choose to. It allows a reader to keep his or her dignity, because the vast majority of the comments are down-right malicious and nasty, and they only do this because of the anonimity. It is my wish (and it's just a wish because it'll never happen because they allow these type of comments for advertisers) that we go back to simple letters to the editor. If these folks are really committed to their comments they'd have no problem signing their name and location, right? Seriously, that shut up the vast majority of these losers.
\end of rant
Hood,
Thanks for posting the link to the article. I read it in the physical edition, today. I was rather surprised to here that Gillespie is particularly confident in Ball Park North, which he says has gotten serious interest from tenants wanting to move in right now. I'd always thought that Market Place would prove the more popular of the two, and I was also under the impression that Market Place was more office and retail oriented than Ball Park. Judging from Gillespie's comments it seems possible that Ball Park North could actually start before Market Place. That blows my mind.
On Capitol Club, we've also finally found out how many units they've settled on: 84. They have 50 to 60 folks still holding on with reservations, but unless they can convert a great deal of those to actual purchases is what remains to be seen. I think they'd absolutely kill with this if they took the risk of marketing on the radio. I really think there is an entire subset of folks out there that have no idea that this project is even planned. Right now, it seems that they are relying on word of mouth and only marketing within the downtown area. They need something to target the suburban folks where they are looking for a change in housing.
Jared,
The pdf link isn't working for the high-speed rail thingy. And, just a correction, the current high-speed rail proposals follow existing Amtrak routes, meaning the Chicago-Detroit route will use the Wolverine Amtrak route that basically runs along I-94. Lansing lies along the Blue Water route to the north, and thus will not be apart of the plan.
I don't think there has ever been a disagreement when it comes to those newspaper comments.
That sucks that the rail line isn't proposed to go through Lansing. Maybe lawmakers could push for that to be changed since it would take through a populous area without adding that much distance or time to the route.
The PDF link was really slow, but the graphic that you uploaded is actually more detailed than the one I linked to. That's too bad to hear about the Amtrak line. Like hood said, hopefully there could be some swaying that would get it to go through a more populous part of the state. Do the Wolverine Amtrak and Blue Water intersect anywhere that this could even be feasible?
Michigan's three Amtrak lines all split off at Kalamazoo, I believe, and if not, there, Battle Creek. There is not currently any passenger lines between Lansing and Detroit, and surprisingly, none between Detroit and Toledo which I'd say is more needed before anything connecting to Lansing for the simple fact that it would finally open Michigan to the East.
MM, the way I read the article about Capitol Club, they are waiting to mass market this project until they actually break ground. That they are holding off until they're closer so people they pull in from marketing don't get tired of waiting and pull out.
Comments
They mentioned the forums in their article also, which is nice.
This would be really great to see! It doesn't look like it will connect to Grand Rapids though. I think that would be something to add in the future.
Kind of OT: What drives me crazy about newspaper articles being online now is everyone's ability to comment on them. The commenting that goes on in this forum is civil and appropriate the majority of the time, but these newspaper comments are totally out-of-whack, because individuals who post know that there's no accountability for whatever they say. Just wanted to get that off my chest.
\end of rant
Hood,
Thanks for posting the link to the article. I read it in the physical edition, today. I was rather surprised to here that Gillespie is particularly confident in Ball Park North, which he says has gotten serious interest from tenants wanting to move in right now. I'd always thought that Market Place would prove the more popular of the two, and I was also under the impression that Market Place was more office and retail oriented than Ball Park. Judging from Gillespie's comments it seems possible that Ball Park North could actually start before Market Place. That blows my mind.
On Capitol Club, we've also finally found out how many units they've settled on: 84. They have 50 to 60 folks still holding on with reservations, but unless they can convert a great deal of those to actual purchases is what remains to be seen. I think they'd absolutely kill with this if they took the risk of marketing on the radio. I really think there is an entire subset of folks out there that have no idea that this project is even planned. Right now, it seems that they are relying on word of mouth and only marketing within the downtown area. They need something to target the suburban folks where they are looking for a change in housing.
Jared,
The pdf link isn't working for the high-speed rail thingy. And, just a correction, the current high-speed rail proposals follow existing Amtrak routes, meaning the Chicago-Detroit route will use the Wolverine Amtrak route that basically runs along I-94. Lansing lies along the Blue Water route to the north, and thus will not be apart of the plan.
That sucks that the rail line isn't proposed to go through Lansing. Maybe lawmakers could push for that to be changed since it would take through a populous area without adding that much distance or time to the route.