Genuinely confused if this is a legit excuse, or something they are using to procrastinate. As far as I know, whatever the redefinition of the floodplain, the actuall "floodway" will continue to exist entirely south of Michigan Avenue. As for the "flood zone" it's already in the existing definition of the flood zone, and will most likely remain so...so just develop it, regardless, how you would in a floodplain. That's extra cost, but that's likely to be the result of the federal redefinition, anyway.
I could imagine there being some financing hang-ups over this but it could just as well amount to an excuse to delay it. I can't believe he plans on spending $60-$100m on this renovation, it doesn't seem like a sensible project to me.
I'm sorta surprised Gillespie hasn't proposed any new apartments, I was expecting to at least see the Marketplace block completed by now.
I'm not a developer, so this is just speculation, but with the federal fund rate possibly at the terminal level, it would make sense for Gillespie to stall and bet on a pivot and lower rates in 2024. That's my optimistic take.
My pessimistic take is that we're going to see a repeat of what happened before the last financial hit. Awesome projects announced (Capitol Club), and then an economic downturn that sets everything back 10 years.
That's a very plausible reason for the delay but I'm not so sure that I'd bet on interest rates getting any lower anytime soon.
On a side note: As a laymen but avid follower of economic and geopolitical news and events, I'm more lost than I've ever been trying to guess what might happen in the near future. If we can manage to stave off WWIII I think the macroeconomic outlook for the US, and for Michigan in particular, should be quite bright. There's a massive push to re-shore as much manufacturing and resource extraction as is practical that seems likely to accelerate in the coming decade or so, this at the same time many countries around the world are beginning to struggle due to low population growth and the fallout of the US's much-hyped dialing back of our roll as global trade police. Then throw in the biggie: the rise of AI and the absolutely incredible amount of change that it's likely to bring to EVERYTHING. The future is murky but logic says it should be bright imo.
Long story short: the economy may not experience a recession anytime soon and the economic cycle could very well be on a bit of a vacation. If so we're entering uncharted territory. Exciting times ahead.
I'm right with you. On the macro, we're getting a lot of conflicting indicators, making it difficult to navigate the markets a bit right now. I know we're off topic now, so I won't elaborate, but I agree with your assessment that it's hard to see quite where we are heading. I'm concerned that the rest of the decade will be a bit of a mess, followed by something great in the 2030s, but time will tell.
I may be wrong [I have been in the past!:}] but while driving past the new apartments on S Cedar downtown they seemed to be working on the overhead utility-lines in front of the new buildings. In my brief look as I passed it looked like they may be raising them above the top floor height.
Mt. Hope and Willow school rebuildings article in the news. They technically do not have to follow the zoning code but the Mt. Hope one is situated near to the street and is decently light on parking with contemporary recreation space in the rear. There was a neighborhood effort to save as many trees as possible but I think many were too old or in the area of disturbance. Willow hasn't submitted any plans yet.
McLaren Greater Lansing set to repurpose their legacy campus. I so hope they find some long-term users for this area as well as the one off Pennsylvania Ave. or break them up for housing if they are demolishing. I'm glad Child and Family Charities found some space after being rudely rejected from St. Casmir's redevelopment. The Planning and Zoning Office is discussing a change from institutional to industrial/employment zoning to help but it may not be useful or appropriate for the neighborhood. I think about the old Consumer's site they are leaving on Willow St. with these; very tough sites that leave sizable holes in the neighborhoods.
My understanding of the Consumer's service center on Willow is that the ground is too polluted for any kind of residential usage and no one is going to put in the money to clean it to that degree, so it'd have to remain industrial or rezoned to instutional.
Glad to hear about the Mt. Hope school siting. Will the front be closer to the street than the old building? As long as parking is not in the front, I don't stress over the other aspects. As long as we are redeveloping these schools as neighborhood schools, that's all I care about. BTW, I get that they are using Woodcreek because they have the building, but boy is that a far ride for (south)east side kids. I hope the district is making it worthwhile for these students.
IMO The city is just going to have to figure out how to clean up the Consumers site enough for residential/mixed use, that land being redeveloped in the right way could be a huge positive for that neighborhood and the city. The large river front parcel at the end of Glenrose/Comfort is already a huge negative, another large river front property going the same way would hurt. Not to mention the RACER properties. Something's gotta give.
I have some level of faith that something good will happen with the Mclaren property, they're well built buildings with some quite new wings and a newish parking ramp. It'd be a perfect place for Neogen to consolidate all of their scattered operations, most of the old schools that they're in would be ripe for redevelopment into apartments. It'd be a win all around. Otherwise I think we'd be looking for a similar company from outside the area to use the property or a developer willing to make it into a multi-tenant building.
There's an LSJ article on upcoming developments in Lansing. Apparently the Gentilozzi projects will be seeking council approval "soon" and aim to start a 90 day brownfield clean up for the tower site in March. It's also mentioned that the new building by the Capitol will now be octagon rather than D shaped. The Ovation is mentioned as well, apparently major construction will start there soon with an opening possibly slightly delayed from early 2025.
Comments
Genuinely confused if this is a legit excuse, or something they are using to procrastinate. As far as I know, whatever the redefinition of the floodplain, the actuall "floodway" will continue to exist entirely south of Michigan Avenue. As for the "flood zone" it's already in the existing definition of the flood zone, and will most likely remain so...so just develop it, regardless, how you would in a floodplain. That's extra cost, but that's likely to be the result of the federal redefinition, anyway.
I'm sorta surprised Gillespie hasn't proposed any new apartments, I was expecting to at least see the Marketplace block completed by now.
My pessimistic take is that we're going to see a repeat of what happened before the last financial hit. Awesome projects announced (Capitol Club), and then an economic downturn that sets everything back 10 years.
On a side note: As a laymen but avid follower of economic and geopolitical news and events, I'm more lost than I've ever been trying to guess what might happen in the near future. If we can manage to stave off WWIII I think the macroeconomic outlook for the US, and for Michigan in particular, should be quite bright. There's a massive push to re-shore as much manufacturing and resource extraction as is practical that seems likely to accelerate in the coming decade or so, this at the same time many countries around the world are beginning to struggle due to low population growth and the fallout of the US's much-hyped dialing back of our roll as global trade police. Then throw in the biggie: the rise of AI and the absolutely incredible amount of change that it's likely to bring to EVERYTHING. The future is murky but logic says it should be bright imo.
Long story short: the economy may not experience a recession anytime soon and the economic cycle could very well be on a bit of a vacation. If so we're entering uncharted territory. Exciting times ahead.
McLaren Greater Lansing set to repurpose their legacy campus. I so hope they find some long-term users for this area as well as the one off Pennsylvania Ave. or break them up for housing if they are demolishing. I'm glad Child and Family Charities found some space after being rudely rejected from St. Casmir's redevelopment. The Planning and Zoning Office is discussing a change from institutional to industrial/employment zoning to help but it may not be useful or appropriate for the neighborhood. I think about the old Consumer's site they are leaving on Willow St. with these; very tough sites that leave sizable holes in the neighborhoods.
Glad to hear about the Mt. Hope school siting. Will the front be closer to the street than the old building? As long as parking is not in the front, I don't stress over the other aspects. As long as we are redeveloping these schools as neighborhood schools, that's all I care about. BTW, I get that they are using Woodcreek because they have the building, but boy is that a far ride for (south)east side kids. I hope the district is making it worthwhile for these students.
I have some level of faith that something good will happen with the Mclaren property, they're well built buildings with some quite new wings and a newish parking ramp. It'd be a perfect place for Neogen to consolidate all of their scattered operations, most of the old schools that they're in would be ripe for redevelopment into apartments. It'd be a win all around. Otherwise I think we'd be looking for a similar company from outside the area to use the property or a developer willing to make it into a multi-tenant building.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/12/26/major-developments-lansing-business-2023/71904440007/?fbclid=IwAR1kuIZw9ww4xXA2KfWXcUev1nejiDRrv46o6L5wi4xdTo5Ei1PH4lsYJCk