Not sure if anyone saw this yet...also disappointing. We're really on a roll here with erasing local history. Just another reason I have problems with "The Mission". Wish we could rid them from this city.
Given, the interior sounds ruined already. It just sucks. I'm so frustrated by what is allowed in this city right now.
While LCRM is doing this, I have no real problem with them, otherwise. Holy Cross? That's a whole other conversation. lol
But, yeah, as usual, there is no need for this. It's weird, the organizations in our town in the early 00's used to value saving these kind of buildings. But in the last decade or so, you've got institutions like LCC, Sparrow and now the City Rescue Mission who seem to see themselves as islands or "campuses" in their neighborhoods, instead of part of their neighborhoods. They all seem to want unnecessary parking or "green buffers" or some such crap. No one has any kind of pride in anything they want to do, anymore.
They actively discriminate and force religion over well being. I have some major issues with them. This is a personal stance though. Holy Cross, I'm also not a fan of. Religion and homelessness should not be mixed. When their "mission" is to force religion above all, they're not doing good for the community.
Well put though. It is an interesting transition. I hadn't thought much about it, but it does seem to be a trend. I think I would've been more content with them gutting the interior for offices or something rather than tear it down entirely. Also, is it just me, or does it seem weird to have a surface detention pond I'm a downtown setting? It just seems like it's convenient and they're being cheap. Does the city even allow this? I bet they'll put a nice chain link fence around the pond with warning signs...
She said the organization’s focus from the beginning has been on the other two properties and that the “house just came along” with them. Only when the need for a detention pond became clear did the Glaister House become a factor.
She said the pond is needed to store rainwater run-off so it does not go into the city sewer system. If the city’s sewer separation system were farther along, the detention pond would not be necessary. But the system is too far in physical distance to tie into, she explained, and that it will be several years yet before it will be close enough.
She estimated that even with the cost of tearing down the Glaister House, putting a detention pond there would make more sense than any other location the rescue mission has identified. She estimated a $50,000 savings over the next best solution of underground water tanks beneath the new facility’s parking lot.
And, she added, “We could have spent about $200,000 on this system" of underground tanks "and still have to either pay to hook up to the sewer separation later — or demolish the house and place a detention pond.”
I believe the city engineer determines if a development or redevelopment requires a stormwater plan, and plans are automatically triggered for projects over 1 acre, I believe. citykid might know more about this. In any case, the last sentence is kind of the key, for me. There are apparently other options; they just don't want to spend the money.
I'd honestly rather not do it this way, but the only way we're going to save any history in town is for their to be proactive applications for historic districts. Because between this and Eastern and a few other examples, it's pretty clear the people who want to develop in Lansing don't care.
I found the City Pulse artical really interesting, giving voice to the thoughts I had about the past and future City Halls. However, the explanation of the new City Hall design as reflecting these insane times seems like a "good excuse" for an uninspired design. What seems it to reflect imo is Mayor Schor. Kind of nerdy utilitarian not bad not good. The new depictions do add a better view of the design, but I think that the people of 2025 Lansing might like a better more impressive design and would certainly not be upset about spending that money on a building that reflects our city as the capital of the great state of Michigan. We don't have to be a dowdy midwestern any town, we are a city that put the world on wheels, helped win wars with our industry, the home of great cultural, government, and industrial institutions, rivers, woods and parks. I would like to see a building that reflects those Lansing virtues.
Regarding the Rescue Mission: As an agnostic I've never really had a problem with faith based services, I also don't have a problem with raising issues with them to garner support for alternatives. My big issue with the Rescue Mission is that I don't like concentrating so many homeless in one are via having these large facilities. If it were logistically/economically feasible I think spreading the homeless population out amongst much smaller facilities would be better for everyone involved, except perhaps the further flung neighborhoods who host new facilities, which have so far escaped carrying any such societal burdens. Having a stormwater pond downtown is questionable, putting it out on the street corner is dumb, I'm surprised zoning allows it. If that is a loop hole hopefully it get's closed to prevent this in the future.
A rant about City Hall/the state of the city in general.....
I can't get over how stupid the new City Hall is. I don't know if Schor is trolling because his and Boji's Masonic Hall deal got shot down or if it's just all simply a ploy to make the developer (Boji) more profit. It truly is low-effort garbage. Reflective of the kind of vision and taste that went in to the Reutter Park Christmas market and ice rink, or the new City Market.
I've been closely following development in Lansing for a long time, at least since I was a teenager in the early 2000's. Despite the slow-bordering-on-glacial pace of development in the city for much/most of that time I rarely if ever felt we took significant steps backwards. Now, despite the prospect of more investment and construction downtown over the next five or so years than there has been in the past couple decades, I feel more uneasy about the city's future than ever. Even the potential crown jewel of this coming boom, Tower on Grand, comes with significant caveats like the inclusion of a large parking garage with no street-level commercial that will also make the street a tunnel, along with its relatively bland final design. And while it's great to finally have something to show for years of efforts towards a performing arts center and what's slated to be built will be nice for what it is, it will ultimately be a giant nightclub, not a performing arts center. The metro area's economic outlook isn't bad but fumbling the Eagle Megasite and therefore likely losing out on the prospect of a chip fab facility is a massive, MASSIVE failure at a time of unique opportunity.
Obviously from all my previous comments, the City Hall move, Eastern's demolition, double LHC buildings, and the new Public Safety building are massive thorns in my side. These are things that cannot be easily corrected, the new buildings will exist for at least decades and Eastern will be gone forever with only a parking lot to and some grass to replace it. The coming years have to bring positives that outweigh those negatives to keep me invested in this city, even if everything from my development rundown list happens as planned I feel like that might bring my sentiment back to lukewarm at best.
I also couldn't agree more with @sabatoa 's sentiment that not enough people here care. The ignorance spouted on Facebook and Reddit regarding Eastern was telling. Look at the pushback on meaningful change in the form based code, particularly in neighborhoods like those on the east side that need fundamental change. The disparate pieces of Lansing Township that scar the east side that have been allowed to persist in limbo. MSU's lack of engagement with the city. These things would non or lesser issues with better leadership and more productive community engagement.
I feel like so much of what's given Lansing hope in the past few decades is the result of the Hollister administration. He's been out of office for over 20 years and his waning influence I think can be felt. Amazing what a difference one unique person can make.
Not much new going on. Looks like they are well into grading and preparing the foundation for Riverview 220. The part of the site fronting Cherry has been raised a bit to bring it more in line with the elevation of Grand, which gets it out of the floodplain.
Yeah, it's been pretty quiet on all fronts lately. Site work on both LHC projects is progressing pretty quickly. Still no signs of life at City Hall, Ovation or any of the New Vision projects.
Comments
Given, the interior sounds ruined already. It just sucks. I'm so frustrated by what is allowed in this city right now.
https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/historic-glaister-houses-fate-seems-sealed-demolition,128974
But, yeah, as usual, there is no need for this. It's weird, the organizations in our town in the early 00's used to value saving these kind of buildings. But in the last decade or so, you've got institutions like LCC, Sparrow and now the City Rescue Mission who seem to see themselves as islands or "campuses" in their neighborhoods, instead of part of their neighborhoods. They all seem to want unnecessary parking or "green buffers" or some such crap. No one has any kind of pride in anything they want to do, anymore.
Well put though. It is an interesting transition. I hadn't thought much about it, but it does seem to be a trend. I think I would've been more content with them gutting the interior for offices or something rather than tear it down entirely. Also, is it just me, or does it seem weird to have a surface detention pond I'm a downtown setting? It just seems like it's convenient and they're being cheap. Does the city even allow this? I bet they'll put a nice chain link fence around the pond with warning signs...
I believe the city engineer determines if a development or redevelopment requires a stormwater plan, and plans are automatically triggered for projects over 1 acre, I believe. citykid might know more about this. In any case, the last sentence is kind of the key, for me. There are apparently other options; they just don't want to spend the money.
I'd honestly rather not do it this way, but the only way we're going to save any history in town is for their to be proactive applications for historic districts. Because between this and Eastern and a few other examples, it's pretty clear the people who want to develop in Lansing don't care.
It's pretty clear that the people of Lansing don't care either. The contempt they show for people trying to save anything in the city blows my mind.
A rant about City Hall/the state of the city in general.....
I can't get over how stupid the new City Hall is. I don't know if Schor is trolling because his and Boji's Masonic Hall deal got shot down or if it's just all simply a ploy to make the developer (Boji) more profit. It truly is low-effort garbage. Reflective of the kind of vision and taste that went in to the Reutter Park Christmas market and ice rink, or the new City Market.
I've been closely following development in Lansing for a long time, at least since I was a teenager in the early 2000's. Despite the slow-bordering-on-glacial pace of development in the city for much/most of that time I rarely if ever felt we took significant steps backwards. Now, despite the prospect of more investment and construction downtown over the next five or so years than there has been in the past couple decades, I feel more uneasy about the city's future than ever. Even the potential crown jewel of this coming boom, Tower on Grand, comes with significant caveats like the inclusion of a large parking garage with no street-level commercial that will also make the street a tunnel, along with its relatively bland final design. And while it's great to finally have something to show for years of efforts towards a performing arts center and what's slated to be built will be nice for what it is, it will ultimately be a giant nightclub, not a performing arts center. The metro area's economic outlook isn't bad but fumbling the Eagle Megasite and therefore likely losing out on the prospect of a chip fab facility is a massive, MASSIVE failure at a time of unique opportunity.
Obviously from all my previous comments, the City Hall move, Eastern's demolition, double LHC buildings, and the new Public Safety building are massive thorns in my side. These are things that cannot be easily corrected, the new buildings will exist for at least decades and Eastern will be gone forever with only a parking lot to and some grass to replace it. The coming years have to bring positives that outweigh those negatives to keep me invested in this city, even if everything from my development rundown list happens as planned I feel like that might bring my sentiment back to lukewarm at best.
I also couldn't agree more with @sabatoa 's sentiment that not enough people here care. The ignorance spouted on Facebook and Reddit regarding Eastern was telling. Look at the pushback on meaningful change in the form based code, particularly in neighborhoods like those on the east side that need fundamental change. The disparate pieces of Lansing Township that scar the east side that have been allowed to persist in limbo. MSU's lack of engagement with the city. These things would non or lesser issues with better leadership and more productive community engagement.
I feel like so much of what's given Lansing hope in the past few decades is the result of the Hollister administration. He's been out of office for over 20 years and his waning influence I think can be felt. Amazing what a difference one unique person can make.