Not really development related, but I was pissed to find out, today, that 94.1 WVIC has switched formats to country.
Now, on development-related news, it appears that the Sparrow Tower is now fully occupied:
LANSING – Sparrow Health System’s long-term, acute care hospital has moved into the eighth floor of Sparrow Tower, meaning the seven-year-old tower facility is fully occupied.
Sparrow Specialty Hospital now has better access to neurology, orthopedics, cardiology and other specialty and support services, Sparrow said in a news release.
It’s move marks the completion of the 450,000-square-foot tower, which opened in 2008 and includes a neurosciences center and a surgical center with a frozen specimen laboratory.
Interior build-out of the seventh and eighth floor began in 2013. The seventh floor has 30 private surgical rooms and opened in January.
When Kaitlyn Pierce of Battle Creek tuned into radio station WVIC-FM 94.1 Monday morning as she does most days and heard country music, she thought she was hearing a comedy program at first.
"I thought it was like a joke or an accident," Pierce, an alternative music fan, said Tuesday. She was confused because the station, marketed as "The Edge," changed formats at 6 a.m. Monday and become a country music station with new call letters: WWDK-FM.
The station is one of 72 owned by Wausau, Wisconsin-based Midwest Communications. The company also owns Battle Creek's WNWN-FM, another country station.
...
The station's Vice President and General Manager Patrick Pendergast said Tuesday that the change was based on a simple fact.
"It was a bottom-line decision to drop the WVIC alternative format and we understand that there are some unhappy listeners out there," Pendergast said. "It's always a difficult process."
Pendergast said Kalamazoo's WZOX-FM 96.5 is a Midwest Communications station playing alternative music, as well.
In other news, the LSJ also had a piece on partnership between some ingham county schools and the insurance industry. What interested me, however, was seeing the stats on insurance industry jobs:
A new career-orientated class that focuses on the growing insurance industry in the region will be open to 50 students in Ingham County beginning this fall.
The year-long class will prepare high school students for a career in the insurance industry, which has quickly grown to be one of the top employers in the Lansing area.
According to state bureau of labor statistics, Ingham County insurance industry employment grew from 2,358 in 2011 to 3,263 in 2014. There are another 3,567 insurance industry jobs in Eaton and Clinton counties.
“Lansing has become the insurance capital of Michigan,” said Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce President Tim Daman. “The industry has invested millions in the area which has fueled job growth and demand.”
LANSING - For the second straight year, the City of Lansing's proposed budget has a projected surplus.
Mayor Virg Bernero presented his Fiscal Year 2016 budget with a surplus of $1.2 million to City Council on Monday night.
"This is the best budget I've had," said Bernero, who was elected in 2005. "It feels like we've turned the corner.
"We're out of the the woods, but not that far out.. And I want to get way out."
The mayor wrote in a letter to council that he proposes $500,000 of the surplus to be deposited in the city's general fund reserves, with the rest to be allocated for "strategic priorities."
It's nice to see the City back in the black. If only there could consistent budget surpluses along with expanded city services for at least few years in a row, and maybe that's not even being overly optimistic at this point. Regardless, Lansing needs this.
There's roads, parks and community centers that need more funding. We also really need to see the City build or help to build an art museum, performing arts center, new Impression 5, new R E Olds museum or similar keystone project. It'd even be nice to even see that proposed amphitheater at Riverfront go forward, along with other improvements to make the park a more permanent venue, that could be a relatively short term goal. There's so many things that need to be done, and when finances become stable they can start to happen. Here's to hoping this wasn't a fluke.
Census county-level data estimates has been released, and it's good news for Metro Lansing and some pretty historic reversals. For the first time in a long time, Ingham County seems to be leading the tri-county area in growth. The estimated population for metro Lansing for 2014 was 470,458 which is up over 2,000 in the previous year (and up over 3,000 for the previous 2013 estimate), and up 6,422 since 2010. Ingham County's growth is accelerating while Eaton County's seems to continue to stall out and Clinton's has slowed considerably which may change as more of the Northern Tier is developed.
With this kind of growth at the county-level for Ingham, this will mean a certain population growth for the city of Lansing when the sub-county data is released in the summer. This would be the first legtimate Census estimate showing growth in the city proper since the 80's. Hopefully, when the news is announced it can be parlayed into finally buoying the city's spirits to view itself as growing instead of long-declining. Hopefully, we can turn this to our favor to finally start landing more prominent projects.
It also appears that Shiawassee County in Lansing's combined statistical area has finally stopped bleeding population. And, compared to other urbanized counties, Ingham grew slightly faster than Oakland County, as fast as Macomb County and Kalamazoo County, and slightly slower than Washtenaw County and Livingston County, which was the top growth county during the 90's. Kent County is the only urbanized county to grow over 1% during the last period. It's just really good to see Ingham finally grouped up having lagged so long.
LANSING – Developers say they could start renovating two vacant buildings in downtown Lansing as early as next week.
Lansing-based Eyde Co. plans to restore two storefronts at 228 and 232 S. Washington Square — across Washtenaw Street from its new headquarters at the renovated J.W. Knapp’s Department Store.
...
Eyde’s $1.7 million project would keep ground-floor retail space in both storefronts, while combining the second floor of each building to make one large space, said Nick Eyde, the project’s developer. That could be available for offices or a possible second-floor restaurant, but not apartments as initially proposed.
A Domino’s Pizza franchise will move into the ground floor, formerly home to a Capital City Books and Magazines store, Eyde said. A lease has not been signed for the second storefront, which once housed a Hallmark Gold Crown gift store.
The project also involves restoring the brick facades and installing new windows. Inside, developers will replace plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems, as well as update the interior.
The Knapp´s Centre in downtown Lansing is beginning to fill with tenants. The Eyde Co., which owns the building, has relocated its offices there. Technology services firm Dewpoint has already expanded once and plans to take more space. The Lansing State Journal is negotiating to relocate on the third floor. And 75 percent of the upper-level apartments are leased.
In short, the Eyde Co.´s gamble on quality office space in the iconic 190,000-square-foot Knapp´s building, for much too long a downtown Lansing embarrassment, is unfolding slowly and sustainably, reflecting project manager Nick Eyde´s philosophy of “under-promising and over-delivering.”
The Eyde Co. moved from its East Lansing headquarters during the first week in March, Eyde said. It occupies about 9,000 square feet — about half of the building´s fourth floor. CGI Group Inc. is also on the fourth floor. Their offices line the perimeter of the building, facing inward to a large open atrium. This is the definition of Class-A space.
It´s the third floor where the Lansing State Journal is setting its sights. Before the newspaper downsized by eliminating its printing operation, production jobs and circulation department, and, of course, the annual reduction in newsroom staff, the space available in the Knapp´s Centre would have been too small.
Guess I just hadn't been up here in awhile, but it appears the new (how new I'm not sure) cement facility by High Grade Materials on the site of the old Boichot facility looks to be complete or nearly complete. I was kind of surprised to see it as this is something I'd totally forgotten about. Funny thing is that Lafarge still lists this site as one of its location, so maybe it's partially owned by both? Anyway, we talked about this about a year and a half ago, and the city pulse article says they want to beautify the site, too. I wonder what that includes?
Nope. The old buildings are still up. The new facility is on the south side of the railroad spur. The article said they'd demolish the old facility, but it doesn't appear to have happened, yet.
Comments
Now, on development-related news, it appears that the Sparrow Tower is now fully occupied:
In other news, the LSJ also had a piece on partnership between some ingham county schools and the insurance industry. What interested me, however, was seeing the stats on insurance industry jobs:
There's roads, parks and community centers that need more funding. We also really need to see the City build or help to build an art museum, performing arts center, new Impression 5, new R E Olds museum or similar keystone project. It'd even be nice to even see that proposed amphitheater at Riverfront go forward, along with other improvements to make the park a more permanent venue, that could be a relatively short term goal. There's so many things that need to be done, and when finances become stable they can start to happen. Here's to hoping this wasn't a fluke.
With this kind of growth at the county-level for Ingham, this will mean a certain population growth for the city of Lansing when the sub-county data is released in the summer. This would be the first legtimate Census estimate showing growth in the city proper since the 80's. Hopefully, when the news is announced it can be parlayed into finally buoying the city's spirits to view itself as growing instead of long-declining. Hopefully, we can turn this to our favor to finally start landing more prominent projects.
2013-to-2014:
Ingham: +1,583 (+0.6%)
Eaton: +336 (+0.3%)
Clinton: +191 (+0.2%)
It also appears that Shiawassee County in Lansing's combined statistical area has finally stopped bleeding population. And, compared to other urbanized counties, Ingham grew slightly faster than Oakland County, as fast as Macomb County and Kalamazoo County, and slightly slower than Washtenaw County and Livingston County, which was the top growth county during the 90's. Kent County is the only urbanized county to grow over 1% during the last period. It's just really good to see Ingham finally grouped up having lagged so long.