Yes, it's a very short route, and this has produced quite a bit of anger for those living further down Edgewood, particularly those west of Washington Avenue. But, I suspect that if this is successful, they'll push it west. The huge problem on the boulevard has been creating a bus turn-around, which is the sticking point for CATA. This route goes as far west as Edgewood stays a boulevard. As you may know, after that, it turns into a tiny two-laner just passed Edgewood Villas, and then goes on to parallel the freeway until just a bit before it ends at MLK.
What's good though, is that this hits Edgewood Villas, which, if you're a pedestrian, fells like an island.
As for CATA on the southside, you would want to talk more to Hood about that, as he used to live on the Southside. Being a more suburban part of town, the bus routes are fewer and far between, though.
BTW, here's a map of Route 5, which currently only touches slightly on Edgewood:
And, then you have Route 9, which serves the Far Southside:
Finally, kind of unrelated, a map showing the routes that can be reached from downtown Lansing:
According to next week's city council agenda, it appears that the Michigan Dental Association (MDA) got their New Personal Property Tax Exemption (PPE) to move to the Capitol View Office Building. I guess this means that this makes true the news that the Boji's will add two more floors to the building.
According someone I spoke with in the know, the lender on Capitol View would not allow additional floors to be built on the structure, not a money problem or anything, they just didn't want it done for whatever reason. He said that they were looking at other sites, inlcuding rehabbing their current one. That all may very well have changed. Also, the Boji's are said to have an option on the MDA's current building. Also, since I'm not sure if this info is supposed to be out there, don't bother to ask for the source, but it is someone directly invlolved in this and other real-estate downtown and elsewhere in the area.
Also in this Mondays council meeting:
Application for Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Certificate filed by Sixty North HB, LLC for property located at 110 E. Allegan St.
It's for the 5 floor building next to 5/3, I notced some of the boards covering windows were removed and replaced with plastic last week, but I forgot to post about it. I will be sooo glad to see this building rehabbed.
That's one of those buildings downtown that looks scary unstable to me. The brick work is cracked an crooked (if I'm thinking of the right building). It's amazing what can be saved and rebuilt.
Along with news about that corner, the fantastic and fabulous restaurant Skyline Chili, is being stupidly replaced with a Famous Taco. Ugh....
Since I'm not much a fan of Chili, I never went their (nope, not even out of curiosity). I also noticed every time I was walking or driving by that it was always empty save for one or two people. I wonder if it was just the type of restaurant, or if it was the location?
Hood,
that the investor won't allow construction atop the Capitol View must be something the Boji's just recently found out, because the Boji's are still advertising an "up to 3 floors above the 9th floor" addition. That, and more importantly, I can not imagine them so publically stating (in the local media, both paper and TV) their wishes to lure the MDA downtown if they didn't really mean it. It must have just been recent, too, because those Personal Property Tax Exemptions the MDA applied for aren't transferrable, I don't believe, and I can't imagine them applying for those if they didn't think they could the two new floors atop the building. If this is true, this is egg on the face of the Boji's; bad business that tarnishes their reputation.
That 5-story building has always intrigued me. If you don't look closely, you'd never know it was there. Glad to hear it's getting a new life. Each floor would make for some very interesting individual condos.
I think that it was mainly the location that was the problem, but I also think that it was a largely misunderstood restaurant. Most people hear chili and think the same thing you do. But Skyline is actually "Cincinatti-style" chili. Which is a greek style chili over spaghetti with cheese (onions and beans are optional). Skyline has locations all over the midwest that are doing well, so I can only assume that it was the location.
I think the location would have been ok if they hadn't been open quite so much. A regular restaurant can't expect to be downtown and open until 9pm every night, and stay open long. At least not with downtown as it is right now. Most of the restaurants (except the bars) close around 6-7pm, and do fine.
I think had they located it over in East Lansing, with the college crowd, it would have done much better. But hey, what do I know, other than that I'm very very sad to see it go.
I went to Skyline Chili once, I had heard about it and wanted to support a downtown business. It was alright, considering I don't eat chili. It's too bad to see them go, but sometimes there just isn't enough business. If I can predict anything, it is that within the next ten years, if development continues at this rate, then downtown businesses like Skyline will be able to survive.
It doesn't help that Allegan is one way, either, dead-ending right into another one-way street: Grand Avenue. Because of how the traffic is configured, in the area, traffic is simply funneled through the area. It kind of makes you wonder if it would have survived with frontage on the Square? I don't know, though. I suspect the next downtown casualty will be Pita Pit. It's another place that always look empty whenever I go by it. Because of the small permanent population, downtown, retail has a very high turn-over rate.
You'd be surprised. I'd say they are a lot like McDonalds and WalMarts; you can almost stack them on top of each other without effecting the other too much. Just look at Starbucks.
Comments
What's good though, is that this hits Edgewood Villas, which, if you're a pedestrian, fells like an island.
As for CATA on the southside, you would want to talk more to Hood about that, as he used to live on the Southside. Being a more suburban part of town, the bus routes are fewer and far between, though.
BTW, here's a map of Route 5, which currently only touches slightly on Edgewood:
And, then you have Route 9, which serves the Far Southside:
Finally, kind of unrelated, a map showing the routes that can be reached from downtown Lansing:
Also in this Mondays council meeting:
Application for Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) Certificate filed by Sixty North HB, LLC for property located at 110 E. Allegan St.
It's for the 5 floor building next to 5/3, I notced some of the boards covering windows were removed and replaced with plastic last week, but I forgot to post about it. I will be sooo glad to see this building rehabbed.
Along with news about that corner, the fantastic and fabulous restaurant Skyline Chili, is being stupidly replaced with a Famous Taco. Ugh....
Hood,
that the investor won't allow construction atop the Capitol View must be something the Boji's just recently found out, because the Boji's are still advertising an "up to 3 floors above the 9th floor" addition. That, and more importantly, I can not imagine them so publically stating (in the local media, both paper and TV) their wishes to lure the MDA downtown if they didn't really mean it. It must have just been recent, too, because those Personal Property Tax Exemptions the MDA applied for aren't transferrable, I don't believe, and I can't imagine them applying for those if they didn't think they could the two new floors atop the building. If this is true, this is egg on the face of the Boji's; bad business that tarnishes their reputation.
That 5-story building has always intrigued me. If you don't look closely, you'd never know it was there. Glad to hear it's getting a new life. Each floor would make for some very interesting individual condos.
I think the location would have been ok if they hadn't been open quite so much. A regular restaurant can't expect to be downtown and open until 9pm every night, and stay open long. At least not with downtown as it is right now. Most of the restaurants (except the bars) close around 6-7pm, and do fine.
I think had they located it over in East Lansing, with the college crowd, it would have done much better. But hey, what do I know, other than that I'm very very sad to see it go.