Interesting, fun, but kind of ugly. Maybe they could set a small merry-go-round or some sort of attraction for that area as well. It is sort of a block you just pass through, it will be good to have people using that part of the park. I think that block and the block in front of the Lansing center could be small business/entrepreneurs areas, they could offer local arts and crafts food drinks, maybe pedicab rides. Getting people to stop and spend some time and money downtown would be great!
It would seem like the powers that be are having trouble putting the shovel in the ground at the Red Cedar site. I was hoping we would see the start of construction by now. I'm kind of old and would like to see this area developed while I am still able to get over there! [like in the next 30 years!] Well the LSJ tells it all better than I can, I hope they get it together.
LANSING - Lansing business leaders pushed city officials to make repairs on a stretch of Michigan Avenue where several developments are under construction. Mayor Virg Bernero fired back that the work is already scheduled.
The Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Mayor Bernero and Lansing City Council on Monday urging them to fix the portion of Michigan Avenue between Pennsylvania Avenue and U.S. 127. The business group took the matter public by sending a release to media on Tuesday.
FINALLY the city at least reveals when this is scheduled. I've emailed the public service department about this three or so times and never got a response back. Leave it to Virg, however, to be both petulant and remain evasive in his response.
"If the Chamber had taken the time to ask the city about our plans, they would already know that fixing Michigan Avenue from Sparrow Hospital to US-127 is scheduled for next month," an emailed statement from Bernero's office reads. "Although a complete redesign and rebuild of Michigan Avenue to accommodate CATA’s Bus Rapid Transit project is likely to happen in the near future, fixing the worst section of Michigan Avenue cannot wait any longer. That’s why Mayor Bernero made the decision to move forward with repairs to Michigan Avenue several months ago."
However, I don't know if they are talking about reconstruction or the little patchwork they recently did last week on the worst spots.
My interpretation is this will be patchwork. We'll see though. Great to hear something will be done. Would have been nice to have gotten this done before the Capital City River Run half-marathon and marathon where we had close to 3,000 people running down Michigan Ave and risking ankle or foot injuries.
Yeah, if it's patchwork, that's already happening. I was down there Sunday night and was surprised to find they'd cut out squares to patch up some of the worst parts going westbound. If that's the case, then Virg isn't be dishonest, which wouldn't be the first time for this.
BTW, looking at the pubic service departments Facebook page, I see they started the project to replace the River Trail bridge under Oakland on the 13th. It's been out some months awaiting repair. I had been kind of surprised when it was closed as just visually it looked to be in better shape than the bridges and boardwalks under and between Michigan and Kalamazoo.
I'm content to just see patchwork for now, though it should have been done a year or two ago. Of course if the BRT falls through then the street/sidewalk/streetscaping will still need a full reconstruction.
The City Pulse has notices for public hearings on the PILOTs for both The Crossing and Shiawassee Senior Lofts on September 26th. With any luck there should be some more info and maybe site plans/renderings for these projects in the upcoming council meeting packet.
I say what ever they do will be great because I have never seen a main street anywhere, except maybe Mexico[love Mexico not the roads], in worse shape. Every town and city from here to the bridge has better main streets, it is kind of a shame right now. Maybe that is why Virg is so touchy about it. Does this guy seem to be returning to adolescents, or has he always been that way? He's not a bad guy but he's not too good at communicating things or bringing people over to his way of thinking. Diplomacy and transparency are simple things that can improve his image and maybe help Lansing do better landing projects,and getting funds from across the street in the Capitol.
The old church at Sycamore and Saginaw that was an old law office until recently is being renovated by M3 Group, a branding and publishing company. The church building was completed in 1892, and has housed two Methodist congregations over its history. M3 Group plans to add an additional 8,000 square feet by building a mezzanine inside and expanding existing floors.
Sounds like most of the work that is to be done will be done to the interior, which is good since the exterior is already nice. And, since it's already an office building it sounds like they won't have to do much work. The biggest thing will be the building of the mezzanine level around what I can only assume was the former sanctuary.
Comments
From the LSJ:
FINALLY the city at least reveals when this is scheduled. I've emailed the public service department about this three or so times and never got a response back. Leave it to Virg, however, to be both petulant and remain evasive in his response.
However, I don't know if they are talking about reconstruction or the little patchwork they recently did last week on the worst spots.
BTW, looking at the pubic service departments Facebook page, I see they started the project to replace the River Trail bridge under Oakland on the 13th. It's been out some months awaiting repair. I had been kind of surprised when it was closed as just visually it looked to be in better shape than the bridges and boardwalks under and between Michigan and Kalamazoo.
The City Pulse has notices for public hearings on the PILOTs for both The Crossing and Shiawassee Senior Lofts on September 26th. With any luck there should be some more info and maybe site plans/renderings for these projects in the upcoming council meeting packet.
Here's a photo I took of it some years ago: