Not sure if I've said it before, but Granger does have huge plans for that site that would (maybe) surprise you. They have for at least a decade. I really can't say much more than that or my connection, but its credible. The biggest issue is that they want the city, and everyone else, to pay for a significant chunk, along with that fact that they're a terrible developer that can't get anything significant off the ground in years.
IF their proposed project ever happened, it would be significant for the area. I was surprised the Gentilozzi project didn't push them to release something.
Gary is always trying to make a deal and pay for nothing, so combining city hall and the Lansing center wasn't a surprise. Gary is something else...
I really do hope that Granger actually makes his plans happen, hopefully without another 30 years going by, but as Michmatters said: everyone has plans. Their stewardship of this property has been embarrassing and the public back and forth with the mayor moreso. Maybe it's a wake up call? If they're financially able to make their grand plans come to fruition and they don't do it they're hurting themselves at least as much as they're hurting the city. That abandoned building hasn't made them any money and I can't imagine that lot is doing much for them anymore either. Maybe they don't have the ability to do anything? They aren't closely (at all??) related to the construction company or garbage dump Granger's, are they?
I don't know for sure now, but Gary Ganger's family lived in Colonial Village back in the '60s and I did know then that his father owned the trash collection business, I believe it was before the real estate business. I often wonder about why say a property owner would rather have an empty space than an occupied space that is bringing some income, maybe not the highest income possible but still an asset that might bring in more in the future. I know it's all about the money but sometimes it just seems spiteful.
Yeah, it's all the same family. Gary ran Granger construction for awhile even. I believe Gary started the development branch following his time at Granger Construction.
The comments about "they all have plans" is a totally fair statement. I just meant they'd put more time and money into than you'd imagine for it to sit as long as it has.
Also hit the nail on the head with those developers. Suburban is completely where they're more comfortable.
Sorry sorry, I didn't want to chime in because you mentioned the form-based code amendment and I was waiting for it to be public. I... am surprised it hasn't been okayed yet, but that is how these things go sometimes. It should be soon. On that note, Ms. Nelson and her group are leading the charge on ADUs. Staff isn't against them but they weren't our proposal so we are suggesting regulations we think are fair. Her group is going to be lobbying Council separately. To the best of my knowledge Lansing would be the first community in the area basically from Grand Rapids to Ann Arbor to allow them. ADUs are the number one request the Planning and Zoning Office receives. Staff is recommending defining and allowing other things like commercial boarding houses, housing cooperatives, and cottage courts in addition to slimming down the number of districts.
Sign Ordinance - in short Reed vs. Town of Gilbert nullified basically everyone's sign ord. on the basis of controlling content and free speech. The city is proposing to overhaul it: make regulations content-neutral, update the zoning districts, and better control size and placement. A lot of things are covered so it is difficult to summarize it, but wall signs will be easier and ground pole signs will be more difficult as properties redevelop under FBC. The corridors that lend themselves more to suburbanization are more in line with Delta Township's Saginaw Hwy - pole signs closer to street and less large, but again there should be less as redevelopment happens.
Just a few other things I've seen mentioned:
1506 N Grand River, I don't have up to date knowledge but I heard the developer is still interested and suggested cutting the project down to 4-5 stories which makes the approved variance moot. The purchase agreement may have expired. Not terribly surprising since they weren't going after public handouts and it is a weaker market area, but it was a super exciting project for a moment. I love this nexus with the old shopping center across the river but who has the vision and money to do anything.
Boji/LHC at Grand and Kalamazoo, yeah two proposed LIHTC projects for two apartments roughly 50 apartments each. Not super exciting for a prominent corner. Speaking as a resident/taxpayer that suggested purchase price for the city parking lot was terrible.
Granger, this is the most amusing development thing I have witnessed in years. I couldn't believe those letters haha. I'll hold my tongue on how they and their proposals from the last 10 years are viewed. Sorry Lymon89, but I do not think they have real plans, any more than I do in my city-planning video games. I'd love to eat those words within a year or two, but I don't think I will be. I am super glad all parking is SLU so they won't be able to use the soon-to-be-demolished property as anything until they develop it. I really wish Lansing had a land-value tax so it would goad them into unloading derelict property.
Parking - I don't see a lot being approved there but I hear you regarding Council. We have to close a loophole and limit lot combinations that make expanded parking an accessory use. That isnt relevant there on Grand but it has come up in other prime locations.
Zoning edits - I am hoping they will go public soon and go in front of Planning Commission in May. I have given up predicting when it will move though.
Sparrow - you are correct, it is just staging area for street work. I probably shouldn't speak on their plans but you won't see any construction for well over another year.
There will be some news about their abandoned houses on Ferguson and Jerome Wednesday.
The three houses they took down along N Holmes St. will be lawn. The old goodyear site is temporary parking up to two years (Section 1254.01.08 (c) ) as they say they "need" overflow parking. They want to pave it but our interpretation is that parking is not allowed there as a front yard in MX-3. They need to get a variance but it would not be supported by me. All they care about is parking. I know I am a biased urbanist but it really borders on a sociopathic obsession to me. They are strongly encouraged to unload the site or the lot adjacent to Soup Spoon to one of the interested developers. I have gotten the impression UofM is pushing their weight around like the city owes them a favor for coming to town and they will hold up investments until they get their way. Par for the course for these type of organizations. My personal politics says their investment isn't here now and we are managing just fine so what's the difference.
Lots of news within these last few posts. Thanks to @citykid for the insights
That the 1506 N Grand River development is still in the table, even if downsized, is very positive. That development would be huge for the area as originally envisioned but would still be transformative even as something half that size.
Regarding Sparrow, this sort of plays into why I was very disappointed that the city allowed them to vacate 8th St. I just don't have faith in them being good neighbors. The city has to start playing hardball in these situations. If they need parking they can build another ramp. They could buy a truly massive amount of goodwill with a restoration of Eastern that keeps all of its Pennsylvania facade and the auditorium.
Great to hear about that plaza on Miller, it's been a quickly declining eyesore for at least the 15+ years since I frequented a friend's house in that area. It'd be great to have gotten something mixed use but just seeing it cleaned up and put back to use is enough for me. Those are generally decent neighborhoods surrounding there so I'm surprised it took this long.
Finally, the Parks Furniture project will be another great one to see happen. It's a pretty straightforward project but is so, so necessary. In a perfect world they would have tore down that last vinyl-clad storefront and rebuilt a 3-4 floor building in it's place but short of something like that I have no complaints. As always I'm just hoping for good quality materials, particularly quality windows, they make all the difference.
I like the small-town look of this design; I was wondering about the spaces that are labeled classrooms.
There is a large artical on LSJ.com about the new restaurant spaces being built on the ground floor of the Knapp's Building. Sounds interesting, it would be really great to have such a large space for several restaurants and store fronts like at Lansing Shuffle, they say they are aiming to be open by the '24 Holiday Season.
Down the street the Downtown Liquor Store caught fire last night, I am not surprised with all the coolers and condensers packed into the small poorly ventilated space, plus there are always incents burning. Who knows, the folks who own the place are very nice, but I would not really mind if they opened a new store somewhere else.
Sorry I wasn't clear. The three houses along Holmes St that went down are going to greenspace and the rest of the land with the vacated street was combined with the main hospital, outlined in red, to limit their property tax liability also want to point out that they bought the old SEIU building on Bingham and is conning the city into thinking they are using it for their operations so they don't have to pay taxes. It is completely vacant when I go by every day. /rant
Anyway, the five houses in yellow and the three across Ferguson are being donated to ICLB/Habitat for rehab. I believe the part in orange is becoming a new parcel that can be built on under the R-6b zoning. I was hoping the press release would be updated by now because I don't believe the hospital is actually doing anything besides donating the houses. I don't think there will be any additional 'affordable housing' beyond these 8 structures.
Parcel Viewer is updated annually in the spring so all of the lot combinations and splits should be reflected soon. And a new aerial for 2025 should be gearing up in the fall. They are updated on 5-year intervals due to the cost.
820 W Miller and the 900 block of Saginaw both received Facade Improvement Grant dollars; the 900 blk got an extra boost beyond the normal $10-20k award. I was not crazy about the east end building either and am hoping the built version is more compatible with everything else. It was one of my recommendations as part of that review committee. I think they wanted to match Moneyball across the street?
Comments
IF their proposed project ever happened, it would be significant for the area. I was surprised the Gentilozzi project didn't push them to release something.
Gary is always trying to make a deal and pay for nothing, so combining city hall and the Lansing center wasn't a surprise. Gary is something else...
The comments about "they all have plans" is a totally fair statement. I just meant they'd put more time and money into than you'd imagine for it to sit as long as it has.
Also hit the nail on the head with those developers. Suburban is completely where they're more comfortable.
Sign Ordinance - in short Reed vs. Town of Gilbert nullified basically everyone's sign ord. on the basis of controlling content and free speech. The city is proposing to overhaul it: make regulations content-neutral, update the zoning districts, and better control size and placement. A lot of things are covered so it is difficult to summarize it, but wall signs will be easier and ground pole signs will be more difficult as properties redevelop under FBC. The corridors that lend themselves more to suburbanization are more in line with Delta Township's Saginaw Hwy - pole signs closer to street and less large, but again there should be less as redevelopment happens.
Just a few other things I've seen mentioned:
1506 N Grand River, I don't have up to date knowledge but I heard the developer is still interested and suggested cutting the project down to 4-5 stories which makes the approved variance moot. The purchase agreement may have expired. Not terribly surprising since they weren't going after public handouts and it is a weaker market area, but it was a super exciting project for a moment. I love this nexus with the old shopping center across the river but who has the vision and money to do anything.
Boji/LHC at Grand and Kalamazoo, yeah two proposed LIHTC projects for two apartments roughly 50 apartments each. Not super exciting for a prominent corner. Speaking as a resident/taxpayer that suggested purchase price for the city parking lot was terrible.
Granger, this is the most amusing development thing I have witnessed in years. I couldn't believe those letters haha. I'll hold my tongue on how they and their proposals from the last 10 years are viewed. Sorry Lymon89, but I do not think they have real plans, any more than I do in my city-planning video games. I'd love to eat those words within a year or two, but I don't think I will be. I am super glad all parking is SLU so they won't be able to use the soon-to-be-demolished property as anything until they develop it. I really wish Lansing had a land-value tax so it would goad them into unloading derelict property.
Zoning edits - I am hoping they will go public soon and go in front of Planning Commission in May. I have given up predicting when it will move though.
Sparrow - you are correct, it is just staging area for street work. I probably shouldn't speak on their plans but you won't see any construction for well over another year.
There will be some news about their abandoned houses on Ferguson and Jerome Wednesday.
That the 1506 N Grand River development is still in the table, even if downsized, is very positive. That development would be huge for the area as originally envisioned but would still be transformative even as something half that size.
Regarding Sparrow, this sort of plays into why I was very disappointed that the city allowed them to vacate 8th St. I just don't have faith in them being good neighbors. The city has to start playing hardball in these situations. If they need parking they can build another ramp. They could buy a truly massive amount of goodwill with a restoration of Eastern that keeps all of its Pennsylvania facade and the auditorium.
Great to hear about that plaza on Miller, it's been a quickly declining eyesore for at least the 15+ years since I frequented a friend's house in that area. It'd be great to have gotten something mixed use but just seeing it cleaned up and put back to use is enough for me. Those are generally decent neighborhoods surrounding there so I'm surprised it took this long.
Finally, the Parks Furniture project will be another great one to see happen. It's a pretty straightforward project but is so, so necessary. In a perfect world they would have tore down that last vinyl-clad storefront and rebuilt a 3-4 floor building in it's place but short of something like that I have no complaints. As always I'm just hoping for good quality materials, particularly quality windows, they make all the difference.
There is a large artical on LSJ.com about the new restaurant spaces being built on the ground floor of the Knapp's Building. Sounds interesting, it would be really great to have such a large space for several restaurants and store fronts like at Lansing Shuffle, they say they are aiming to be open by the '24 Holiday Season.
Down the street the Downtown Liquor Store caught fire last night, I am not surprised with all the coolers and condensers packed into the small poorly ventilated space, plus there are always incents burning. Who knows, the folks who own the place are very nice, but I would not really mind if they opened a new store somewhere else.
Anyway, the five houses in yellow and the three across Ferguson are being donated to ICLB/Habitat for rehab. I believe the part in orange is becoming a new parcel that can be built on under the R-6b zoning. I was hoping the press release would be updated by now because I don't believe the hospital is actually doing anything besides donating the houses. I don't think there will be any additional 'affordable housing' beyond these 8 structures.
Parcel Viewer is updated annually in the spring so all of the lot combinations and splits should be reflected soon. And a new aerial for 2025 should be gearing up in the fall. They are updated on 5-year intervals due to the cost.
820 W Miller and the 900 block of Saginaw both received Facade Improvement Grant dollars; the 900 blk got an extra boost beyond the normal $10-20k award. I was not crazy about the east end building either and am hoping the built version is more compatible with everything else. It was one of my recommendations as part of that review committee. I think they wanted to match Moneyball across the street?