EDIT: Just read the Detroit New's take on the story. Apparently, Lansing state senator Gretchen Whitmer is saying that Richardville's people have probably already made deal with the Boji's to lease-to-own the Capitol View. The state would move its existing offices out of that people to some state owned space somewhere else downtown (probably the Capitol Complex), and sell the Farnum to the Bojis.
This really leaves the questions of what the Boji's want with the Farnum? Are they going to renovate it, tear it down and rebuild? With Class A vacancy rates being so low, downtown, I imagine they want some kind of overflow space sense the Boji is always about 100% filled. I'd like to see a new tallest built on the Farnum site, but we know they aren't going to do that. lol They'll probably just renovate it, maybe redo the exterior, and reuse it.
I've actually grown to like the Farnum building, all the materials seem to be high quality and the interior seems interesting as far as I can see from walking by. I'd like to see a restoration of the building, it shouldn't need anything too extensive as it seems in decent shape.
As for Capitol View I wonder if the senate will need the extra floors? They could put their hearing rooms right at the top since I'm sure they wouldn't want to walk all the way over to Boji.
I've been in the Farnum, and it was quite nice when the last time I was inside, though, that was back in the early 90's.
I was wondering about the extra floors, myself. Then, I looked at the square footage of Capitol View. I had no idea it how much larger it was than Farnum. Farnum is 80,000 square feet and Capitol View is 140,000-160,000 square feet. You could fit the state senate in and still have room for at least part of another state agency or department. I imagine they'll use the existing space at the top for the public hearing rooms if they want to move it. The Boji Tower ground floor is really something else in that regard.
If they do move to Capitol View, I really hope this would mean they'd get parking back at the parking garage site, and free up that land behind the Capitol for beautification. As far as I'm concerned, the surface lot behind the Capitol is a complete eyesore.
You mean not all of the 38 senators have their main office in the Farnum? I'd be surprised if they didn't. Still, they certainly wouldn't need double the space, which is what the Capitol View is in comparison to the Farnum. I imagine there will still be quite a bit of space left in the Capitol View is that's where they decide to move.
No, im really talking about the senate-related offices, each of them has a staff and I'm sure there are other people who are/should be under the same roof. There are also their hearing rooms to consider. Even with all that it would probably be stretch to fill Capitol View, but they could probably justify it.
That's the thing, the Farnum Building as far as I know is there senate staff offices. Each state senator has a small (symbolic) office in the capitol, I believe, but the real work is done by their staff in the Farnum. I had a relative who worked for a former state senator and worked out the Farnum; the senator also had a tiny office in the capitol when the senators work collaboratively, but the staff mostly stayed back across the street to handle consituent services and such,
Well, after a year, LCC has finally pulled the trigger, and demolished the three historic (if even largely modified) homes that hug the southwest corner of Capitol and Saginaw for it's "park-like entrance", after preservation groups couldn't come up with a viable plan to move them:
Greg DeRuiter | Lansing State Journal
Greg DeRuiter | Lansing State Journal
The LSJ says that the "park-like entrance" isn't even the next project on LCC's books. They will not even begin working on this site until they are finished with the recently revealed Gannon Building renovation.
This is quite old news - a little research I did showed that the work was being bid out in late 2012 - but it seems that the state media has just picked up on the renovation of Constitution Hall and the Mason Building. The Snyder administration has been trying to get out of leasing and move employees back to and near the Capitol Complex so they won't have to pay rent. This also includes making the physical office spaces even smaller to fit more people in. Granholm did something similar during her two terms, but it was more concentrated not on getting out of leases, but just generally pulling back state employees from the suburbs or far-flung areas of Lansing to the downtown area:
The Snyder administration is reporting progress on its plan to eliminate costly leases by moving more employees to buildings the state already owns.
But the Michigan Legislature may be headed in the opposite direction as it considers selling a state-owned building and relocating senators and staff into rented space instead.
Since January 2011, the state has eliminated 52 leases and 973,000 square feet of leased space, saving taxpayers millions of dollars, said Kurt Weiss, a spokesman for the Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
Two projects costing a total of $34 million are ongoing near the Capitol in Lansing, as crews remodel Constitution Hall and the Mason Building so they can house more employees.
At Constitution Hall on West Allegan, work is expected to be completed this spring on a $7-million project to maximize use of a state-owned building that had been about 30% vacant. About 1,000 state employees worked in the building when the project began in 2012. Once work is done, it will accommodate up to 1,900, officials said.
...
Crews have been renovating Constitution Hall floor-by-floor, but the nearby Mason Building on West Allegan has been completely vacated. The project was initially estimated to cost $17 million, but is now pegged at $27 million.
The extra money will used to make the restrooms comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, upgrade fire suppression, remove asbestos and pay for other mechanical improvements, Weiss said.
...
It appears they moved everyone out of the Mason Building to Constitution Hall across the street to free it up for other state employees. I REALLY and have always wished they'd develop some restaurants or retail on the westside of downtown around the Capitol Complex. There is literally not a single retail business within blocks in any direction until you hit Washington Square. It feels like you're in some suburban office park but even more desolate at times.
I guess the Mason Building restoration is going to be pretty extensive, I guess they're supposed to be installing a crane or construction elevator for the project. As for Constitution Hall, I was in there before and it was crazy how much wasted space there was. The offices were relatively large and they were layed out in a zig zag pattern. It isn't suprising at all that they could fit way more people in there than what there were.
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This really leaves the questions of what the Boji's want with the Farnum? Are they going to renovate it, tear it down and rebuild? With Class A vacancy rates being so low, downtown, I imagine they want some kind of overflow space sense the Boji is always about 100% filled. I'd like to see a new tallest built on the Farnum site, but we know they aren't going to do that. lol They'll probably just renovate it, maybe redo the exterior, and reuse it.
Not only is this plausible, I bet she's right.
As for Capitol View I wonder if the senate will need the extra floors? They could put their hearing rooms right at the top since I'm sure they wouldn't want to walk all the way over to Boji.
I was wondering about the extra floors, myself. Then, I looked at the square footage of Capitol View. I had no idea it how much larger it was than Farnum. Farnum is 80,000 square feet and Capitol View is 140,000-160,000 square feet. You could fit the state senate in and still have room for at least part of another state agency or department. I imagine they'll use the existing space at the top for the public hearing rooms if they want to move it. The Boji Tower ground floor is really something else in that regard.
If they do move to Capitol View, I really hope this would mean they'd get parking back at the parking garage site, and free up that land behind the Capitol for beautification. As far as I'm concerned, the surface lot behind the Capitol is a complete eyesore.
Greg DeRuiter | Lansing State Journal
Greg DeRuiter | Lansing State Journal
The LSJ says that the "park-like entrance" isn't even the next project on LCC's books. They will not even begin working on this site until they are finished with the recently revealed Gannon Building renovation.
It appears they moved everyone out of the Mason Building to Constitution Hall across the street to free it up for other state employees. I REALLY and have always wished they'd develop some restaurants or retail on the westside of downtown around the Capitol Complex. There is literally not a single retail business within blocks in any direction until you hit Washington Square. It feels like you're in some suburban office park but even more desolate at times.