I know in the 3rd Ward we have the South Side Community Coalition based at Holmes/Pleasant Grove, and that area is going to get some placemaking upgrades in the near future. There's some chatter about what to call that region too. I've been trying to do some research and that intersection historically had a school there long before there were neighborhoods- but I can't find the original school name yet. I figure a historical name like that might be good.
The old school on the corner of Holmes and Pleasant Grove was called "Pleasant Grove Elementary". After that, I believe it was "New City Academy". Malcolm X attended Pleasant Grove Elementary.
gbdinlansing: There is a North Town. Don't think it's that popular of a neighborhood name, though. Of course you could always use North Town instead of North Side, or make North Town part of North Side. I just think the East Side nickname works so well, why not expand on it? The whole sides thing makes sense to people and Lansing does have distinct east, west, north and south sides.
It's far too generic. Those are more regional names than specific neighborhood names. Southside Lansing is basically everything south of 496 or the rivers, and it's been seen that way for decades.
BTW, before Old Town was Old Town, it was North Lansing. Given how Lansing is laid out, "Northside" would be really ambiguous. I really like names that are specific and have some kind of historical meaning for smaller neighborhoods. I mean, Eastside is good an all, but people understand that it's a region and not a neighborhood. It includes neighborhoods.
Anyway, looks like the Prruden Tech Center has landed an office tenant. I saw them putting up the signs this afternoon. I think it read "Welcome C.H. Robinson" which looking it up appears to be a logisitics company. Still waiting for them to announce Flats at Prudden Wheel, which could be twin, 10-story towers.
This was announced years ago, but Pattengill will be closed in the 2018-2019 school year to convert it into the new Eastern High School. Renderings for the redone Pattengill will be revealed on September 12th. They will also be repurposing some of the things from the current Eastern High School; mentioned in the article is the possible reuse of the slate floors and chandeliers. What they are selling the most is that Eastern will finally get its own home field instead of having to travel across town to use Sexton's. Fairview across the street, of course, is being expanded to turn it into a pre-K-to-6 instead of a K-through-3 school, which I guess means that the new Eastern will keep its 7 & 8 middle school component. Sparrow all these years later is still being mum about what they want to do with the current Eastern building. The community has rallied around it and been very adament that they'll fight a full-scale razing of the building should Sparrow have that in its plans.
City leaders and organizers behind Beacon Field at Ferris Park, a soccer field built for the neighborhood, want to recreate Beacon Field in Southwest Lansing at West Holmes and Simkin Drive. Apparently, Beacon Field at Ferris Park downtown has been a huge success. It's busy every time I'm by the area in the evening. Design, fundraising and construction only took about 11 months for the first park. There are also plans to include a walking/running track at this new southwest location
Here's the current Beacon Field to give an idea of what they want to create:
The land they want to building Beacon Southwest on sits near Holmes and Pleasant Grove behind the South Side Community Coalition. God knows they need something for the kids around this really crummy and underutilized neighborhood intersection.
Yes the school on the corner was called Pleasant Grove. Gosh has it been that long since they closed it no one remembers? Pleasant Grove Square or Corners would be a great name for that area. Huge numbers of people live out there now, the businesses all seem kind of neglected looking, those people could support better businesses if they were to redevelop that area.
According to property records, it looks like Ingham County Land Bank sold the old school to a neighborhood church, Tabernacle of David, back in September 2014. It looks like they gave the school back to the Ingham County Land Bank in May of this year. I wonder what the story behind that was? Hopefully, the Land Bank can find a suitable redeveloper for the property. Lansing has done fairly well in repurposing its old school buildings, so I doubt it gets demolished.
Because this area is pretty far from downtown, it really could be a great place for a neighborhood town center, with things like banks, medical offices, maybe a city hall annex, things that would be of service to the community. This would also provide jobs and employed people who would support restaurants and stores in that area. Just dreaming of course but I don't think any area of Lansing should be "forgotten" ,there should be good roads, and sidewalks, nice street lighting, like in REOtown all of that pays off, with private investment, lower crime and high values for homes.
El Azteco is building a patio of the east end of the building on vacant land that most recently housed an old storage house for Park Furniture down the way. The problem in my mind is that it's still facing another poorly maintained Park Furniture warehouse house on the corner.
I guess I'm happy to see a business doing well enough in that area that it can expand, but the view out of that patio will be an ugly one, not something I'd want find pleasant while eating my lunch or dinner, that's for sure. This stretch has been for years one of the very few areas in all of Lansing that looks like areas you'd see on the east side of the state. I'd really like to see Park Furniture move so that at least the north side of the street can be properly renovated, because they don't even care what their main store building looks like, let alone the storage facilities they own near the store.
EDIT: It appears the old three-story Park Furnitue warehouse on the corner (at Princeton) must have been taken away in a foreclosure, because it went to the Ingham County Treasurer's office in May of this year. This is a good thing.
I know that we have talked about this area before, and I think the one way high speed streets that cut through this neighborhood are the biggest impediment to it's redevelopment. I think the area looks like REOtown must have looked before they rebuilt the street. There are the bones of an "old town" in the store fronts along W. Saginaw, and the Old Oakland neighborhood is quite nice. Maybe if the old GM sites are developed this area will be the next REOtown.
Comments
I know in the 3rd Ward we have the South Side Community Coalition based at Holmes/Pleasant Grove, and that area is going to get some placemaking upgrades in the near future. There's some chatter about what to call that region too. I've been trying to do some research and that intersection historically had a school there long before there were neighborhoods- but I can't find the original school name yet. I figure a historical name like that might be good.
The old school on the corner of Holmes and Pleasant Grove was called "Pleasant Grove Elementary". After that, I believe it was "New City Academy". Malcolm X attended Pleasant Grove Elementary.
gbdinlansing: There is a North Town. Don't think it's that popular of a neighborhood name, though. Of course you could always use North Town instead of North Side, or make North Town part of North Side. I just think the East Side nickname works so well, why not expand on it? The whole sides thing makes sense to people and Lansing does have distinct east, west, north and south sides.
It's far too generic. Those are more regional names than specific neighborhood names. Southside Lansing is basically everything south of 496 or the rivers, and it's been seen that way for decades.
BTW, before Old Town was Old Town, it was North Lansing. Given how Lansing is laid out, "Northside" would be really ambiguous. I really like names that are specific and have some kind of historical meaning for smaller neighborhoods. I mean, Eastside is good an all, but people understand that it's a region and not a neighborhood. It includes neighborhoods.
Anyway, looks like the Prruden Tech Center has landed an office tenant. I saw them putting up the signs this afternoon. I think it read "Welcome C.H. Robinson" which looking it up appears to be a logisitics company. Still waiting for them to announce Flats at Prudden Wheel, which could be twin, 10-story towers.
Two little neighborhood rumblings:
This was announced years ago, but Pattengill will be closed in the 2018-2019 school year to convert it into the new Eastern High School. Renderings for the redone Pattengill will be revealed on September 12th. They will also be repurposing some of the things from the current Eastern High School; mentioned in the article is the possible reuse of the slate floors and chandeliers. What they are selling the most is that Eastern will finally get its own home field instead of having to travel across town to use Sexton's. Fairview across the street, of course, is being expanded to turn it into a pre-K-to-6 instead of a K-through-3 school, which I guess means that the new Eastern will keep its 7 & 8 middle school component. Sparrow all these years later is still being mum about what they want to do with the current Eastern building. The community has rallied around it and been very adament that they'll fight a full-scale razing of the building should Sparrow have that in its plans.
City leaders and organizers behind Beacon Field at Ferris Park, a soccer field built for the neighborhood, want to recreate Beacon Field in Southwest Lansing at West Holmes and Simkin Drive. Apparently, Beacon Field at Ferris Park downtown has been a huge success. It's busy every time I'm by the area in the evening. Design, fundraising and construction only took about 11 months for the first park. There are also plans to include a walking/running track at this new southwest location
Here's the current Beacon Field to give an idea of what they want to create:
The land they want to building Beacon Southwest on sits near Holmes and Pleasant Grove behind the South Side Community Coalition. God knows they need something for the kids around this really crummy and underutilized neighborhood intersection.
Yes the school on the corner was called Pleasant Grove. Gosh has it been that long since they closed it no one remembers? Pleasant Grove Square or Corners would be a great name for that area. Huge numbers of people live out there now, the businesses all seem kind of neglected looking, those people could support better businesses if they were to redevelop that area.
According to property records, it looks like Ingham County Land Bank sold the old school to a neighborhood church, Tabernacle of David, back in September 2014. It looks like they gave the school back to the Ingham County Land Bank in May of this year. I wonder what the story behind that was? Hopefully, the Land Bank can find a suitable redeveloper for the property. Lansing has done fairly well in repurposing its old school buildings, so I doubt it gets demolished.
Because this area is pretty far from downtown, it really could be a great place for a neighborhood town center, with things like banks, medical offices, maybe a city hall annex, things that would be of service to the community. This would also provide jobs and employed people who would support restaurants and stores in that area. Just dreaming of course but I don't think any area of Lansing should be "forgotten" ,there should be good roads, and sidewalks, nice street lighting, like in REOtown all of that pays off, with private investment, lower crime and high values for homes.
El Azteco is building a patio of the east end of the building on vacant land that most recently housed an old storage house for Park Furniture down the way. The problem in my mind is that it's still facing another poorly maintained Park Furniture warehouse house on the corner.
I guess I'm happy to see a business doing well enough in that area that it can expand, but the view out of that patio will be an ugly one, not something I'd want find pleasant while eating my lunch or dinner, that's for sure. This stretch has been for years one of the very few areas in all of Lansing that looks like areas you'd see on the east side of the state. I'd really like to see Park Furniture move so that at least the north side of the street can be properly renovated, because they don't even care what their main store building looks like, let alone the storage facilities they own near the store.
EDIT: It appears the old three-story Park Furnitue warehouse on the corner (at Princeton) must have been taken away in a foreclosure, because it went to the Ingham County Treasurer's office in May of this year. This is a good thing.
I know that we have talked about this area before, and I think the one way high speed streets that cut through this neighborhood are the biggest impediment to it's redevelopment. I think the area looks like REOtown must have looked before they rebuilt the street. There are the bones of an "old town" in the store fronts along W. Saginaw, and the Old Oakland neighborhood is quite nice. Maybe if the old GM sites are developed this area will be the next REOtown.