While transportation and infrastructure improvements are important, I don't consider those are the reasons why the Lansing region and, specifically, downtown Lansing and East Lansing are under-performing. Public transportation is not excellent but it is certainly acceptable. Then, there's the issue of providing appropriate public spaces, like parks. Even with MSU's nice campus not far away, the city could provide better public spaces downtown. The problem is that for the city to invest in nice public spaces it has to have a very solid tax base. Still, I don't think this is a reason for under-performing downtown areas.
I consider that the problem in the Lansing region, particularly in the downtown areas of Lansing and East Lansing, is the lack of private investment. For example, there are many businesses not present in the downtown areas of Lansing and East Lansing that should be there. I don't refer to professional firms but to more expensive, adult-oriented businesses, like fancy restaurants and cultural businesses. These types of quality-oriented businesses are lacking in Lansing and East Lansing and these are businesses that are at the core of any city. Certainly, the population is there. The Lansing region is not densely populated but it does have a lot of people that everyday would pay for a high-end quality dining experience. Also, the creativity is there with all the students and professional artists in both downtown areas. These are businesses that don't have to be large in size but provide a quality experience, such as having dinner with a view of the Lansing Riverfront or the MSU farms in the southern part of East Lansing. These are opportunities that we all know are there.
People have to be willing to invest in these opportunities for the city to grow since these are the type of reliable businesses that solidify the tax base and allow city officials to, then, take on public initiatives and enhance the city.
I noticed that The Corner Bar & Grille just north of Oldsmobile Park at Cedar and Shiawassee closed either this week or last. I'd heard nothing about it in the local media. It was there one day and gone the next. I wonder if their lease had come up and Gillespie wants something else in there, or if they just went out of business?
EDIT: Just checked out their facebook page, and they are saying they are only open for lunch, now. I still wonder what all that's about, and why the for-sale signs didn't go up until they stopped their night service. Still sounds like to me that they may be winding down their operations.
The Lansing City Pulse is reporting that Lansing is soon to aquire 28.47 acres of land at Hunters Ridge, which is an area south of the Waverly bridge and just north of the intersection of Waverly and Holmes along the Grand River. It's a very beautiful part of the city, and literally right on the edge of it down that way. The area will be desginated as a parkland, but it sounds like they arae going to keep it mostly natural. The best part of this? The city will be getting the land for free. The city will use a Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grant it won to cover 75% of the $270,000 price of the land, and Capitol National Bank - which owns the site - is basically donating the rest so the city can aquire the property.
This land, I've noticed, as a noticeable deer population, and it's kind of crazy to see them right in the city like that.
It appears that in conjunction with construction in and around the REO Town plant, the facades of the buildings on the 1100 south block of Washington Avenue have been stripped revealing the historic buildings beneath. I was actually kind of surprised because I hadn't know these were historic buildings.
Probably a couple of weeks old, but site prep has begun on the urban, 3-story apartment building at Michigan and Marshall. They've dug up the old storage tanks under the gas station.
I was, too, because sometimes these things end up slipping under the radar are going away with a whimper, but lo and behold, I was by that area last night and the massive gas tanks are sitting up on the site with all of the dirt excavated. This is honestly one of the projects I'm anticipating the most, because it will show that you can building quality (but affordable), urban, multi-story housing outside downtown. I've always imagined this type of stuff along the avenue around Sparrow. There is a huge market waiting right there for the taking for anyone that wants to develop it, and it doesn't have to be $1,000+ monthly rents or $100,000 condos.
Both the Lansing City Council and DeWitt Township board of trustees passed the 425 agreement, tonight, that will transfer nearly 3 square miles of land in and around the airport to Lansing for development purposes around the airport. The transfer has the possibility of being voided, though, if Lansing isn't granted the Next Michigan desgination, this year, that would allow for the development of an aerotropolis around the airport. So, at least for the moment, for the first time in its history, Lansing gets control of an airport it and Ingham County have been subsidizing all by itself despite the thing being in Clinton County and DeWitt Township and being used by everyone in the region.
Comments
I consider that the problem in the Lansing region, particularly in the downtown areas of Lansing and East Lansing, is the lack of private investment. For example, there are many businesses not present in the downtown areas of Lansing and East Lansing that should be there. I don't refer to professional firms but to more expensive, adult-oriented businesses, like fancy restaurants and cultural businesses. These types of quality-oriented businesses are lacking in Lansing and East Lansing and these are businesses that are at the core of any city. Certainly, the population is there. The Lansing region is not densely populated but it does have a lot of people that everyday would pay for a high-end quality dining experience. Also, the creativity is there with all the students and professional artists in both downtown areas. These are businesses that don't have to be large in size but provide a quality experience, such as having dinner with a view of the Lansing Riverfront or the MSU farms in the southern part of East Lansing. These are opportunities that we all know are there.
People have to be willing to invest in these opportunities for the city to grow since these are the type of reliable businesses that solidify the tax base and allow city officials to, then, take on public initiatives and enhance the city.
EDIT: Just checked out their facebook page, and they are saying they are only open for lunch, now. I still wonder what all that's about, and why the for-sale signs didn't go up until they stopped their night service. Still sounds like to me that they may be winding down their operations.
This land, I've noticed, as a noticeable deer population, and it's kind of crazy to see them right in the city like that.