I may be wrong about this! but I think there was a line of trees and brush on the north banks of the river when I was a kid living on Park Ave. I don't remember being able to see so much of the trains and lots behind from the south bank. I knew some kids who lived on Moorse River Drive, they had big picture windows looking out on the river, and I'm pretty sure there were trees blocking the view all the way down to the former Logan Street bridge. I know that railroads [like the BWL too] are much more aggressive about keeping their ways clear of vegetation these days but there was once a line of trees on that side of the river. That was the area I was thinking could be greened west of MLK, and then in the future if they needed it again, they could just pull up the sod!
According to the City Pulse Mayor Schor will announce the new performing arts center tomorrow at 3pm at the Lake Trust building. They don't say so, but this obviously implies that the new center will go on the remaining portion of the Lake Trust block. I'm anxious to see what they propose and how immediate the plans are.
Yeah, there was mention of the Lake Trust site but no confirmation. Awhile back I remember something that implied that the old Michigan Theater was also a candidate and in the article above they mention that the Masonic Temple was briefly considered but Blue Cross refused to sell their lot and the Masonic Temple's auditorium would have required the construction of a freight elevator to use.
They've been really unclear about financing, total budget and partnering with a developer. I guess that's what this press conference is probably for though. I'm somewhat assuming there will be a housing element incorporated here and the city won't be buying land or anything.
Yeah, if Blue Cross has no intention of selling that lot at all in the future it will prove disappointing. While I wouldn't have picked the Masonic Temple as the performing arts center, it would have/could make for a cool venue.
It would have been an impressive place for a performing arts center at the Masonic Temple building. Of course, Blue Cross could not do without that surface parking lot in the middle of Lansing's downtown. It is great to hear that it may go on S. Washington however, and I hope it will be a "thoughtful design" free of corrugated metal surfaces!
I went to the Peanut Shop today and noticed they have begun to plant some good-sized trees behind the Capitol Building. I hope there will be a lot more.
I also noticed a SOLD sign on the Masonic Temple building on Capitol Ave! I had not heard about this sale; I wonder who bought it?
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to clarify that migration trends examined by CommercialCafe were between metropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau — which locally includes the entirety of Clinton, Eaton, Ingham and Shiawassee counties. Several city-specific references to “Lansing” were corrected to read “Greater Lansing.”
@MichMatters I'm seeing a 16.6% growth rate for the Lansing metro area from 2010-2020 in Wikipedia, they're showing a lower population (464k vs 534k) for 2010 than other sources. Do you know if the counties included in the MSA changed?
I'm not sure what to make of the study or the article. They don't make it clear what time frame they were studying and there's some quotes that imply this might be a study only of migration between Midwest metros. Anecdotally the relatively flat 1.4% metro growth shown elsewhere doesn't make a ton of sense given the amount of new construction and renovations over those 10 years, of course 16% doesn't either.
Comments
https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/performing-arts-center-coming-to-downtown-lansing,19688
Yeah, if Blue Cross has no intention of selling that lot at all in the future it will prove disappointing. While I wouldn't have picked the Masonic Temple as the performing arts center, it would have/could make for a cool venue.
I also noticed a SOLD sign on the Masonic Temple building on Capitol Ave! I had not heard about this sale; I wonder who bought it?
https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/study-pegs-lansing-among-fastest-growing-cities-in-midwest,19831
I'm not sure what to make of the study or the article. They don't make it clear what time frame they were studying and there's some quotes that imply this might be a study only of migration between Midwest metros. Anecdotally the relatively flat 1.4% metro growth shown elsewhere doesn't make a ton of sense given the amount of new construction and renovations over those 10 years, of course 16% doesn't either.