I hope the bankruptcy process doesn't muck up the redevelopment prospects of these sites. Maybe it's time for Lansing Township and the city to get together to lay the groundwork for something to someday happen there.
1. The retail spot on Washington Sq. 200 block next to Decker's that's had green painted plywood over the windows seems to have alot of construction activity. They've put new brink around the windows and during the day the door's open and there's definitely work going on in there.
2. The facade rennovation of Kelly's is far along, all the new windows are in place, etc. Still not clear what the final product is going to look like.
3. The former Temple Club in Old Town has been bought and is supposed to be rennovated for office space. http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090605/NEWS01/906050340&s=d&page=2#pluckcomments
I saw lights on in the Temple Club on one night, last week. They'd announced the proposal a few weeks back, but I was surprise to see them scoping out and prepping the building so soon.
LSJ is reporting that the Land Bank is very close (days) to aquiring the Deluxe Inn at Washington & Main/496 with plans to clear the site for housing and retail aimed at Cooley students. This has been in the works, for years, but only now are they on the cusps of aquiring this long-troubled property.
I don't imagine we'll see anything from the Land Bank. The next step is to see which developer steps up to buy the site with a plan. Hopefully, they have someone in mind to come up with a plan for the site.
From the sound of it they have had some tentative plans for this site for awhile. I had heard about a year ago about an individual trying to buy the property, but the owner was requesting a far too high price.
Anyone read this weeks City Pulse article on 7 Block? There wasn't much new, but what was new is definitely noteworthy. Apparently, in order for the city to have leverage with the Eyde's on developing a block, someone in city government looked ahead all the way back in 2000 and got the city to purchase a small amount of the land that straddles the corner of Kalamazoo Street and Butler. Apparently, Eyde has always wanted a huge state office building (100,000+ sq ft), here, and it simply hasn't panned out. In order to build it, he'd need the entire block. The city, thus, is using their parcel to try to get Eyde to make this a mixed-use project when it happens. I've made it known that I want the city to fight for control of the land and pass it off to the many new, urban-conscious developers, downtown, who will develop something, here, but, apparently, the city promised not to try and take the land so we're going to be in limbo for the forseeable future on this field.
It sucks, but I sort of expected a stalemate. I just hope demand reaches a point where their forced to compromise, because that's probably what its going to take.
Comments
1. The retail spot on Washington Sq. 200 block next to Decker's that's had green painted plywood over the windows seems to have alot of construction activity. They've put new brink around the windows and during the day the door's open and there's definitely work going on in there.
2. The facade rennovation of Kelly's is far along, all the new windows are in place, etc. Still not clear what the final product is going to look like.
3. The former Temple Club in Old Town has been bought and is supposed to be rennovated for office space. http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090605/NEWS01/906050340&s=d&page=2#pluckcomments