Looks like the EDC got a grant for the Barber College at the old redone plaza (North Point Plaza) at Lake Lansing and Larch - it looks really nice! - to move to 4414 South Penn. It's a nice, glass faced modernist building just south of Cavanaugh; I'm trying to remember what used to be there, but can't recall. Anyway, nice little modernist group of offices and apartment buildings that back on to Kendon Park.
Ope! Looks like it's behind a paywall, but this doesn't sound good:
Missed this at last night's city council meeting. The council had up a resolution to start the process of bringing down the old Walter Neller Building (built 1938) at the northwest corner of Grand and Allegan. Here's a picture I took of it years ago:
I would honestly hate to see this go knowing that it'd just be an empty field. It's be such a nice base/podium for a tower at this site. And bringing it down leaves another tooth knocked out along what is already a very sparse Grand Avenue. It's a shame the Grangers won't even do the bare minimum to mouthball this one.
Does this mean Granger will be footing the bill for the demolition then? I sure hope so. They did absolutely nothing to maintain that. I worked right near it for years and it was always a problem with things collapsing and the homeless getting in...not to mention all the other critters.
I agree...it is a shame though. It really is one of the last few buildings right up there on Grand. I hate to see another field or poorly maintained parking lot. As long as it's a Granger property, it's going to be an eyesore.
Honestly, I'm not sure how the demolition process works. I can't really find anything clearly showing the process, though reading the resolution, this appears as if it's near the end of the process. The demolition board recently made a change to its regulations that got rid of the board's ability to table decisions. This means now that the board can't indefinitely give time to property owners. To be honest, I've not followed these meetings closely enough to figure out if they are putting pressure on them to fix the building up or because they city wants it gone, but it looks like we're at the end of the process.
BTW, can't remember if we discussed it in the thread or if I discussed this with citykid here privately, but recent amendments to the zoning code (and the Form Based Code even before then, itself) make it hard for this to become parking. The code when we changed it makes it so that this would have to go through the special use permitting process for a parking lot. And the new amendment makes "parking encroachment" into the "front yard" of a parcel impermissable. However, I'm not sure what that means when an entire building is demolished on a lot instead of part of it.
I don't hate that building but I don't consider it at all important to save nor do I personally see it being worth trying to incorporate as a podium for a taller building. It's just an extremely basic two floor brick building with no real defining features, being it was built in the 30's or 40's I doubt it had a cornice or any ornamentation even originally. I obviously don't want to see it sit as an empty field but I'm wiling to live with it, I'm happy to see this building go. I hope this will push Granger to do something with their property, their family can't be happy that their name is getting negative attention between this building and the City Hall proposal.
Well that is some good news about demolitions and the zoning changes. It's definitely something Lansing needed to do.
I've seen the safety report and photos of the interior from years ago. That building is beyond fixing up or saving, especially for how modified and basic it is. Between the hazardous materials and structural failures, it just wouldn't be worth it. I do like its frontage on Grand though. I'd expect any future project to have that street presence as well though, or at least I'd hope so. Sounds like it would have to be from what you're saying.
Honestly, I'm not sure Gary cares what people think about him. He constantly makes enemies left and right with businesses and municipalities. The best thing for that property is for it to be in someone else's hands.
I have a "kind of funny" story about Gary Granger, Imo! I signed up to attend my 50th Sexton High class reunion late, when I got there, they gave out name tags, I guess Gary G was a late no show, so they used his name tag to make mine [another Gary] and it had Gary Granger's name on the back side. Too bad he has turned out to be such a poor businessman for Lansing. there really should be buildings on such an important and visible corner downtown.
It must've been a different Gary Granger, the Gary of the Granger family, and Granger development actually graduated from Holt High School. Maybe there was another Gary in the family?
Well, it could be that there is another Gary Granger who went to Holt, but I remember him at least going to Dwight Rich and I passed his family's home on the corner of Colonial Plaza and Pleasent Grove every day on the way to school, and I also remember his family was in the waste management business which for some reason seemed strange to me the city picked up trash in those days. It was just a little Lansing story that I thought may be interesting, and Gary's name is on the back of my name tag, so a Gary Granger graduated from JW Sexton in 1973!
Comments
Ope! Looks like it's behind a paywall, but this doesn't sound good:
https://x.com/LSJNews/status/1848137153890439659
I would honestly hate to see this go knowing that it'd just be an empty field. It's be such a nice base/podium for a tower at this site. And bringing it down leaves another tooth knocked out along what is already a very sparse Grand Avenue. It's a shame the Grangers won't even do the bare minimum to mouthball this one.
I agree...it is a shame though. It really is one of the last few buildings right up there on Grand. I hate to see another field or poorly maintained parking lot. As long as it's a Granger property, it's going to be an eyesore.
BTW, can't remember if we discussed it in the thread or if I discussed this with citykid here privately, but recent amendments to the zoning code (and the Form Based Code even before then, itself) make it hard for this to become parking. The code when we changed it makes it so that this would have to go through the special use permitting process for a parking lot. And the new amendment makes "parking encroachment" into the "front yard" of a parcel impermissable. However, I'm not sure what that means when an entire building is demolished on a lot instead of part of it.
I've seen the safety report and photos of the interior from years ago. That building is beyond fixing up or saving, especially for how modified and basic it is. Between the hazardous materials and structural failures, it just wouldn't be worth it. I do like its frontage on Grand though. I'd expect any future project to have that street presence as well though, or at least I'd hope so. Sounds like it would have to be from what you're saying.
Honestly, I'm not sure Gary cares what people think about him. He constantly makes enemies left and right with businesses and municipalities. The best thing for that property is for it to be in someone else's hands.