Ratchet, not sure we really disagree. I just said that it's personally not somewhere I'd want to live; I don't get the appeal of container living to begin with, but to then essentially just stack inside an exsiting building will really claustophobic and prison-y to me.
It's undoubtedly a good project for the area and the city.
I went to Brogan's tire shop (southside of the 600 block of East Michigan, downtown) a week or two ago only to find it finally closed. I'd literally been there a few weeks before that, so I was surprised. My gut told me that it wasn't for lack of business, but because someone was probably looking at the sight. Sure enough I got some (very minimal) inside info that in fact Gillespie is looking at that site. I assume he wants to attach it to the corner lot to building his apartment building on. Look out for this one; this may be next.
Looking at the zoning maps, it appears that canopy area is a lot, and then the adjoining building storefronts are split into three different lots. Fortunately, it appears Brogans owns all of them, though, I believe there was another tenant in the one furthest east, but I'm not sure they are there, anymore. It appears the three storefronts were built in 1900 and pieced together by Brogan, and the canopied area was added on in 1930. Piecing together the lots gives you 305 feet of frontage on Michigan; by comparison, the Stadium District on the other side of Larch has 440 feet of frontage. Market Place and Oldsmobile Park also have around 430 feet of frontage on their front-facing streets. So this makes the project more feasible than when it was just the corner lot.
I am guessing these units would line up with the outside windows. For me, it would be rather strange if these units stand alone away from the walls and windows. Other than that I like the idea, it is innovative, I think young people and singles will like this setup.
Ok, I misunderstood Mich - honestly, I wouldn't want to live in a container construct either! But, as gbd indicates, some folks will love this layout.
As much as I am loathe to see more early 20th century store frontage (Brogan's) torn down on Michigan Ave, I am looking forward to seeing some infill on that old gas station lot. It is definitely the right time to build those lots into something mixed-use, I hope they get to building soon. That particular site reminds me a similar situation further down on Michigan Ave - the empty lot next to the hot tub store across the street from The Venue and the unfinished brewpub. Seems like the perfect spot for a 3-5 story mixed-use building.
Yes! Urban Systems is still going through with their plan for the entire block at Washington and Lenaweee sans new city hall. It includes renovating the former Lake Trust Credit Union headquarters building and putting up a 5 to 8 story residential building with ample ground floor commercial space at the corner.
First phase would be the renovation of the existing office building.
This area has been an embarrassing entrance into downtown Lansing for years. It'll be great if we can finally close the streetwall from the freeway all the way north.
Wow, maybe this is the real thing. This will be so nice if they do build it. I still want to see ribbons cut and shovels in the dirt before getting too excited. This project added to the old Y and the new city hall is going to put a lot of people on the south side of downtown. Perhaps this will spur the development of the other vacant lots in the area. I would really like to see the surface lot next to Knapp's developed, there are a lot of spaces down there that may become attractive to develop. These Urban Systems guys seem to have good ideas, I hope it all happens.
I don't have much to add on the mayor's state-of-the-city, I missed it also. The LSJ, you may have seen has an article. I like his mention of transparency and road funding for instance.
Comments
Ratchet, not sure we really disagree. I just said that it's personally not somewhere I'd want to live; I don't get the appeal of container living to begin with, but to then essentially just stack inside an exsiting building will really claustophobic and prison-y to me.
It's undoubtedly a good project for the area and the city.
I went to Brogan's tire shop (southside of the 600 block of East Michigan, downtown) a week or two ago only to find it finally closed. I'd literally been there a few weeks before that, so I was surprised. My gut told me that it wasn't for lack of business, but because someone was probably looking at the sight. Sure enough I got some (very minimal) inside info that in fact Gillespie is looking at that site. I assume he wants to attach it to the corner lot to building his apartment building on. Look out for this one; this may be next.
Looking at the zoning maps, it appears that canopy area is a lot, and then the adjoining building storefronts are split into three different lots. Fortunately, it appears Brogans owns all of them, though, I believe there was another tenant in the one furthest east, but I'm not sure they are there, anymore. It appears the three storefronts were built in 1900 and pieced together by Brogan, and the canopied area was added on in 1930. Piecing together the lots gives you 305 feet of frontage on Michigan; by comparison, the Stadium District on the other side of Larch has 440 feet of frontage. Market Place and Oldsmobile Park also have around 430 feet of frontage on their front-facing streets. So this makes the project more feasible than when it was just the corner lot.
I am guessing these units would line up with the outside windows. For me, it would be rather strange if these units stand alone away from the walls and windows. Other than that I like the idea, it is innovative, I think young people and singles will like this setup.
Ok, I misunderstood Mich - honestly, I wouldn't want to live in a container construct either! But, as gbd indicates, some folks will love this layout.
As much as I am loathe to see more early 20th century store frontage (Brogan's) torn down on Michigan Ave, I am looking forward to seeing some infill on that old gas station lot. It is definitely the right time to build those lots into something mixed-use, I hope they get to building soon. That particular site reminds me a similar situation further down on Michigan Ave - the empty lot next to the hot tub store across the street from The Venue and the unfinished brewpub. Seems like the perfect spot for a 3-5 story mixed-use building.
Yes! Urban Systems is still going through with their plan for the entire block at Washington and Lenaweee sans new city hall. It includes renovating the former Lake Trust Credit Union headquarters building and putting up a 5 to 8 story residential building with ample ground floor commercial space at the corner.
First phase would be the renovation of the existing office building.
This area has been an embarrassing entrance into downtown Lansing for years. It'll be great if we can finally close the streetwall from the freeway all the way north.
Exciting news, I loved their plan for that block.
Wow, maybe this is the real thing. This will be so nice if they do build it. I still want to see ribbons cut and shovels in the dirt before getting too excited. This project added to the old Y and the new city hall is going to put a lot of people on the south side of downtown. Perhaps this will spur the development of the other vacant lots in the area. I would really like to see the surface lot next to Knapp's developed, there are a lot of spaces down there that may become attractive to develop. These Urban Systems guys seem to have good ideas, I hope it all happens.
I used to work at the Michigan Catholic Conference there across the street. Glad to see this area getting some attention.
I did not hear Andy's speech, did he have any big development news?
I don't have much to add on the mayor's state-of-the-city, I missed it also. The LSJ, you may have seen has an article. I like his mention of transparency and road funding for instance.