That's not a bad idea - there is a ton of vacant commercial space across the bridge near the Saginaw/ Center st. intersection that would be perfect for that. I could see some sort of public-private partnership to provide low cost apartments/townhouses being a great option for this also.
Of course, I would not want to keep some folks from going to LCC because they could not afford to park there. I was just brainstorming alternatives to building a multi-million dollar parking structure on Capitol Ave... Perhaps they could build a ramp or lot outside of downtown and offer very low or free parking to students and have continuous bus loop service downtown to the campus, [the hospital on S.Washington has this service for employees] then charge more for the on-campus parking. I received my Associate of Fine Arts Degree from LCC and I do understand who goes there. Back before they expanded the campus I had to attend classes in a variety of buildings all over downtown. There was no LCC student parking at these buildings. Many days[mostly on the days the market was closed] I would park at the City Market parking lot, and just walk to my classes from there. That lot had a two-hour limit but I never saw it enforced so the lot was always full of cars that were not there for the market but I never got a ticket!. This "free parking" was not so easy to find in East Lansing and I did get a lot of parking tickets while at MSU, I did often take the bus to avoid parking. Building a dorm on top of a parking structure would really be a good thing for downtown, and help students who don't have cars or who do not want to drive to school every day decide to attend LCC. The Landmark Building in EL would be a good model for that.
Props to Spadafore for calling them out on that. I agree that a single-use structure in what is arguably prime real estate downtown is short sighted and will be something the city would likely regret in future decades. What happens if Saginaw gets road dieted and the area becomes more conducive to non-motorized traffic? That parcel is right by the river, the river trail, a park, close to the downtown business district, and all the offices therein. We need to be future-proofing these sorts of projects, same with the one the Michigan realtors are proposing.
One good thing I was thinking while reading about this proposal was that a lot of the people who went to LCC during the Recession must have gotten jobs. I think that is one reason why the enrollment had dropped so drastically. As I have said here I am against this proposal as it stands. There is an office/retail space on the ground floor of the ramp across the street, does anyone think this makes that ramp more attractive? I do not see retail space being snapped up in the other new buildings around town so is there a market for retail space downtown? I am sorry but I do not think every student rates parking as the reason they go or do not go to LCC or thinks they are entitled to a free parking space downtown. I hope that at least some of them rate getting an education first in their minds. Maybe they should have never malled N Washington Ave and kept the gut [parking down the middle of the street] so the students could park right outside their classroom building.
I was on S Cedar yesterday and noticed a nice renovation of an old office building near the same block as "Dicker and Deal". It is going to be a marijuana shop called Sky Mint. The same company is building the shop at Penn. and Saginaw. The buildings look bright with a lot of windows. As an "elder" here I have to say this is one thing I would have never believed possible and it has been difficult to lose the paranoia and feeling of being a criminal for using MJ, so I am still very surprised to see the licensed new facilities spending a lot of money here opening new shops and grow houses right on our main streets. The other day I was riding down in our elevator and it was so skunky I said to the young woman riding with me, "wow is sure smells like someone lit up in here"! She replies "oh that's me! I work in the big grow house in Dimondale". I apologized, that was the first time I had come across someone employed in a grow house, I wonder if working there would put you off marijuana?
I'm glad to see the planning board pushing LCC to put commercial space on the ground floor of their ramp, that would make it palatable for me. I've always liked the idea of LCC building some housing or partnering with someone to do so and I like the idea of putting it on top of this garage although I think that's highly unlikely at this point in the process. Their lot at the SW corner of Washington & Shiawassee would be a good spot for housing also. I was never really was excited to see LCC expand south of Shiawassee at all though, I'd rather they build up more.
Wow that is a beautiful building there, @MichMatters . I'm glad to see this one slowed down too. As Saginaw currently stands, I don't see retail working here without a surface lot. But I think residential on top of the ramp would work. If the city agrees with first floor retail and it sits vacant then we haven't really gained much through the process.
I noticed that the ground looks to be in the process of being graded as well as some utility work being done at 705 N Larch St, which is the empty lot north of the giant QD between Cedar and Larch St. I had totally forgotten what was there until I looked up historical pictures and saw that lot used to have a McDonald's, gas station, and car wash. Anyone know the story of why the lot became vacant? Anyone know what may be happening to the lot now? I couldn't find anything in particular online, but I did see the lot was purchased last year for a little over 1 million.
It better not be another marijuana dispensary lol.
Mich, you're right, I just drove by the site again last night and didn't see any additional work on it, and on further inspection no grading has been done. I must have just saw the workers when I quickly glanced to my left through that tangle of intersections and brake lights and pictured something more then there actually was.
Well, hopefully whoever bought that plot of land for a million does something with it in the near future. That intersection really epitomizes the concrete jungle that a lot of downtown Lansing currently is. It would be nice to see something new go here, as well as reducing that giant lot QD has over their entire property.
In that area, they have been working on the former Bonnie's building for quite a while now. It seems like a lot of work just for a resale. [pot shop?] On the other side of town, I noticed the renovation of the Allen Street Community Center [I think that is the name] on Kalamazoo Street may have started. I saw hardhat workers outside and the windows on the east side have been covered. Down at the 600 Block, they have started to install a grey brick on the lower floor and in the alley at the back of the building. It looks OK.
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It better not be another marijuana dispensary lol.
Well, hopefully whoever bought that plot of land for a million does something with it in the near future. That intersection really epitomizes the concrete jungle that a lot of downtown Lansing currently is. It would be nice to see something new go here, as well as reducing that giant lot QD has over their entire property.