@sabatoa Yeah, I had a hunch because the guy who owns (or manages?) some of the renovated apartments in Cherry Hill hosted neighborhood meetings over in that building. Which reminds me, he was somehow in partnership with the developer that proposed the apartments on St Joe between Cherry and River, so that project may be related to the larger group as well. I wish those guys luck, hopefully the Lake Trust site is just the beginning of realizing their larger ambitions.
Yeah, he owns Dymaxion, which is part of Urban Systems.
Was TA Forsberg the developer proposing the apartments on St. Joe? Asking because Brent is also part of Urban Systems. It seems to be a collaboration of like-minded dudes that formed to compete with some of the bigger dogs in town to develop cool stuff.
Oh get this- I just dug a little deeper, and that Santa Barbara address you saw for Lake Trust, it's probably tied to WestPac, the third partner in Urban Systems. I wonder if he is the money man in the group.
...but I think I threw away the packet they gave out. I'm pretty sure they were a company out of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area or maybe had done a significant number of projects there?
Like I say, it's nice to see another group around doing things. If all goes well with their current endeavors I imagine we'll see some interesting things from them in the future. Kinda makes me wish I had continued or would go back to something real-estate related so I could be a part of some of this.
The south side of the 2000 block of Michigan is getting $450k of facade improvements through the existing corridor improvement program. It's great to see things like this but I do hope the city plans on repaving and streetscape improvements to Michigan sooner rather than later, I don't think waiting an unknown number of years for a Federally funded BRT or light rail project is wise.
Just a small update, I finally made it by the old Holmes St school and saw that work is under way there. My only gripe is the windows, I'm a pretty huge proponent of putting historically accurate windows in old schools that fill up the whole space where the old windows go. They did not do that here, they put in small house-sized windows that take up only a small portion of the window opening. I think this is a mistake, having the proper windows in a building like that is one of the most impactful things you can do for the aesthetics of the inside or outside. Of course I'm pretty much beating a dead horse here...
I continue to be dumbfounded by decisions like these, I'm holding my tongue on the windows I see going in Clara's right now.
I'm right there with you @hood. I hate being part of a project that doesn't at least consider historically accurate windows. There are sometimes legit reasons. I often find that some older schools end up switching off of steam heat, so there is a need for ductwork. The schools tend to want it covered, so then you have a drop ceilings requiring some type of panel at the top of the windows, reducing the original height. Like I said, I don't like it...but sometimes it's hard to avoid whether it's the client, cost or practicality.
Now, the lansing buildings where they infield the opening with stucco/EIFS and then putting tiny windows is the worst. I haven't been by the Holmes school, but I assume that's that it's similar to. They ruined buildings like Sexton and Eastern with there "upgrades". Sexton was meant to have a vertical appearance and large windows.
Anyways, just my two cents. I too can't believe how horrible Clara's is looking. Just such a cheap, short-sighted decision. I can only imagine how destroyed the interior is. Was Studio Intrigue the architect on that project?
@Lymon89 Yeah, the window openings at Holmes St are boxed in, just the vapor barrier there now so hard to say what they'll clad it in. Agreed on Eastern and Sexton. I'm really hoping to see Sparrow put the right windows in Eastern and it'd be amazing to see the school district try to restore the aesthetics of Sexton someday although that seems a pretty far off dream.
I'm really not sure what to expect inside of Clara's, I want to believe that Gillespie wouldn't be so dumb as to ruin that. I have no idea the architect, no logos on the floor plan or renderings on his site.
Oh wow, that's unexpected and pleasant news. I pretty much expect them to put effort into making the Shiawassee frontage look good, any extra effort beyond that would be appreciated.
Looks like they're projecting a $71 million cost and 60-100 new jobs. There is a sort of site plan that roughly outlines the buildings on page 16 but no renderings. It looks like there will be two separate buildings, one along Shiawassee attached to the old warehouse and the other just behind the new addition.
The LSJ ran a story on the REO Gateway under construction at the old Deluxe Inn site. They give no new details on the project besides mentioning that it will be 72 units, and also mentioned as a side not that their project in the Cherry Hill neighborhood is still planned.
Comments
Was TA Forsberg the developer proposing the apartments on St. Joe? Asking because Brent is also part of Urban Systems. It seems to be a collaboration of like-minded dudes that formed to compete with some of the bigger dogs in town to develop cool stuff.
Oh get this- I just dug a little deeper, and that Santa Barbara address you saw for Lake Trust, it's probably tied to WestPac, the third partner in Urban Systems. I wonder if he is the money man in the group.
...but I think I threw away the packet they gave out. I'm pretty sure they were a company out of the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek area or maybe had done a significant number of projects there?
Like I say, it's nice to see another group around doing things. If all goes well with their current endeavors I imagine we'll see some interesting things from them in the future. Kinda makes me wish I had continued or would go back to something real-estate related so I could be a part of some of this.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2022/06/01/450-000-facade-improvements-taking-place-along-michigan-avenue/9940682002/?fbclid=IwAR17E7nFI311cYqxnhureT2GobKuu1c-c0XYAHGAm6-gDmv6KiF7CA5R5Uw
I continue to be dumbfounded by decisions like these, I'm holding my tongue on the windows I see going in Clara's right now.
Now, the lansing buildings where they infield the opening with stucco/EIFS and then putting tiny windows is the worst. I haven't been by the Holmes school, but I assume that's that it's similar to. They ruined buildings like Sexton and Eastern with there "upgrades". Sexton was meant to have a vertical appearance and large windows.
Anyways, just my two cents. I too can't believe how horrible Clara's is looking. Just such a cheap, short-sighted decision. I can only imagine how destroyed the interior is. Was Studio Intrigue the architect on that project?
I'm really not sure what to expect inside of Clara's, I want to believe that Gillespie wouldn't be so dumb as to ruin that. I have no idea the architect, no logos on the floor plan or renderings on his site.
Looks like they're projecting a $71 million cost and 60-100 new jobs. There is a sort of site plan that roughly outlines the buildings on page 16 but no renderings. It looks like there will be two separate buildings, one along Shiawassee attached to the old warehouse and the other just behind the new addition.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/2022/06/17/72-market-rate-apartments-being-built-near-gateway-reo-town/7648351001/?fbclid=IwAR3SFGXwmVEGHZg8oOfN8zuAsnGhRiYY6GnkZZuUVWkKDr-eOCZjK_Xf6Ds