You guys were right! Just went by and they have the site all fenced off. So glad to hear that this was related to the project. lol Surprised that they didn't announce this, though, and we still don't have any renderings.
Bob Trezise, the Lansing Economic Area Partnership's president and CEO, said Monday the end of this agreement is historic and has already drawn attention form three "significant prospects" who are interested in building a new hotel. The city has a contract with LEAP to attract investment, create jobs and strengthen the tax base.
"They all note that we're a very rare marketplace in America where you have a moderate-sized capital city with only one hotel," Trezise said. "They note that is unusual; they note that our region and the city and the downtown have grown significantly over the last 20 years. And so they see us as very much as an underserved market with potential to make money and do good business."
If this doesn't mean another significant downtown building, nothing will. Heck, put another one right across the street from the Raddison in a mixed-use building all I care just to drive home the point. lol
Regarding Marketplace, it's odd having something so close to construction and having no idea what the size or design of the building will be. I'm guessing the first rendering we'll see will either be posted onsite or on their social media.
Regarding the Raddison, I actually think that right across the street is just about the most likely spot for a large hotel downtown. That parking lot at Michigan & Grand along with the old two floor building to the south of it would make the perfect spot to fit a high rise and have room for a parking/retail/office annex. I also noticed the "The Overlook" conceptual development by Gillespie is itself being pitched as a hotel.
Hood, can you find any old council packets with the Marketplace project? I know there weren't renderings, but maybe there were some specifications for the other building? More than that, I was always under the impression that the north wing was going to be the next part of the project, but construction looks to be happening on the building which I remember Gillespie stating was likely to be office and retail along Cedar, so I'm really confused as to what's being built.
It's funny, because before I saw the Radisson news, I was just thinking a few days ago of the old building that the Grangers own on that connected site. They can't allow that space to be wasted; it's too valuable. So I'm expecting something mixed use there and tall, at least taller than we've been use to recently. The article, however, is still throwing the city hall site out there as the place for a possible hotel.
It looks like it'd be the 8/18/2008 meeting (that's when the development agreement was passed), but as far as I can tell meeting packets are only available back to 2011.
I just did some research back through our own posts, and while you didn't seem to post a link to the packet, you did post some excerpts from the packet back in the summer of 2008.
The city market agreement was a bit more ambiguous about details than I can remember:
Two to five mixed use buildings with two to ten stories each, but can't total less than 100,000 square feet between the two buildings.
Required to include 80 to 150 units of residential.
Required to have an exterior of brick or "other acceptable urban exteriors." (lol)
The rest of the requirements related to the timeline which have long since been thrown out the window. lol
I know I could look it up, but doesn't the casino proposal have a hotel included?
Those must have been some desperate days back when they made this agreement. It got the hotel built so I guess it was a good thing. It will sure be nice to see a hotel being built somewhere besides the concrete factory district on the north side.
I really hope that City Hall isn't chosen as a site for a hotel. I doubt a new hotel would be as large as the current City Hall is, and I like the City Hall being across from the capital even though they are at different levels of governing. I still think a prime location for a hotel would be near Sparrow, and another hotel could be placed on Washington Square closer to Cooley.
I got a closer look at Marketplace, today. It seems only the Cedar frontage north of the driveway is fenced off, so maybe this is the "U" or "L" shaped expansion to the existing building as was originally planned. I guess only the Cedar frontage south of the driveway is for the mixed-use building.
Comments
You guys were right! Just went by and they have the site all fenced off. So glad to hear that this was related to the project. lol Surprised that they didn't announce this, though, and we still don't have any renderings.
We'd discuss this a recently, but the no-compete deal that kept being renewed for the Raddison is finally over, and the Journal has an article about the future without it.
If this doesn't mean another significant downtown building, nothing will. Heck, put another one right across the street from the Raddison in a mixed-use building all I care just to drive home the point. lol
Regarding Marketplace, it's odd having something so close to construction and having no idea what the size or design of the building will be. I'm guessing the first rendering we'll see will either be posted onsite or on their social media.
Regarding the Raddison, I actually think that right across the street is just about the most likely spot for a large hotel downtown. That parking lot at Michigan & Grand along with the old two floor building to the south of it would make the perfect spot to fit a high rise and have room for a parking/retail/office annex. I also noticed the "The Overlook" conceptual development by Gillespie is itself being pitched as a hotel.
Hood, can you find any old council packets with the Marketplace project? I know there weren't renderings, but maybe there were some specifications for the other building? More than that, I was always under the impression that the north wing was going to be the next part of the project, but construction looks to be happening on the building which I remember Gillespie stating was likely to be office and retail along Cedar, so I'm really confused as to what's being built.
It's funny, because before I saw the Radisson news, I was just thinking a few days ago of the old building that the Grangers own on that connected site. They can't allow that space to be wasted; it's too valuable. So I'm expecting something mixed use there and tall, at least taller than we've been use to recently. The article, however, is still throwing the city hall site out there as the place for a possible hotel.
It looks like it'd be the 8/18/2008 meeting (that's when the development agreement was passed), but as far as I can tell meeting packets are only available back to 2011.
I just did some research back through our own posts, and while you didn't seem to post a link to the packet, you did post some excerpts from the packet back in the summer of 2008.
The city market agreement was a bit more ambiguous about details than I can remember:
Two to five mixed use buildings with two to ten stories each, but can't total less than 100,000 square feet between the two buildings.
Required to include 80 to 150 units of residential.
Required to have an exterior of brick or "other acceptable urban exteriors." (lol)
The rest of the requirements related to the timeline which have long since been thrown out the window. lol
I know I could look it up, but doesn't the casino proposal have a hotel included?
Those must have been some desperate days back when they made this agreement. It got the hotel built so I guess it was a good thing. It will sure be nice to see a hotel being built somewhere besides the concrete factory district on the north side.
No, there is no hotel included with the plan, though it could certainly be added.
LOL at "concrete factory district" ... very true
I really hope that City Hall isn't chosen as a site for a hotel. I doubt a new hotel would be as large as the current City Hall is, and I like the City Hall being across from the capital even though they are at different levels of governing. I still think a prime location for a hotel would be near Sparrow, and another hotel could be placed on Washington Square closer to Cooley.
I got a closer look at Marketplace, today. It seems only the Cedar frontage north of the driveway is fenced off, so maybe this is the "U" or "L" shaped expansion to the existing building as was originally planned. I guess only the Cedar frontage south of the driveway is for the mixed-use building.