I'm still not excited about the plan, even less so after learning that the city is only planning on taking up the lower 4 floors and there's basically no chance of acquiring the lot next door. I am really, really hoping the push to simply restore and save the existing City Hall gathers momentum. I cannot for the life of me see the advantage to anyone, other than the developers involved, of this move. At it's very best it's a net neutral for the city and downtown.
Yeah, I went back and watched. They accepted the grants for New Vision and for the new city hall money but denied the purchase agreement for the Masonic Temple. I'm happy about this, at minimum if they go with the Masonic Temple they need to negotiate the purchase of that lot on the corner at the time of initial purchase. I personally will not be happy if that doesn't happen. I also don't think Boji should be the developer, certainly not by default. If anyone gets that contract handed to them it should be Christman.
Some councilmembers sound skeptical, this is a positive imo. How about bonding out another $20-$40 million more and doing a competitive RFP? Something about city hall being in a crowded in mid-block building doesn't sit well with me. It should be on a prominent corner, I know it seems minor but I think it's important.
Apparently there will be some announcement as to the location of the new city hall tomorrow and it seems to be implied that this won't be the Masonic Hall now. I'm just hoping it's not at the public safety complex, to move city hall out of downtown altogether would be an embarrassment. I'm a little worried though as I can't imagine what other options it could be without an RFP.
Yeah, everytime they come up with something new for city hall, I get a little worried. We're never going to get something that compares to the current city hall when it was built, they way its going. The old Masonic Temple seemed like one of the better options they'd proposed.
This new plan sounds interesting, although it is kind of ironic that the old City Hall building was considered too small and the one of the reason's they did not like the Masonic Temple was because it was too large. I am hoping for a unique design fit for the City Hall of Michigan's capital city. Please not a suburban office park building, or one of those Intrigue Studios designs. I think that the Masonic Temple would make a great hotel and convention center. After so many years of looking at these huge parking carters in our downtown it would really be amazing to see something actually being built on some of them.
Does this mean that the plans for housing and a CATA headquarters are no longer under consideration?
The city will be talking to LHC about how they are siting their building for their phase I development so hopefully there will be a really nice layout. I hope baryame's sells and then there is an entire block to design without constraint. The news just broke that CATA wants to be a part of the City Hall building. The LHC phase II project that was pitched for the city's parking lot was ultimately rejected by council and so they bought the Eyde property one block to the south. It is still moving forward, but is dependent on another round of LIHTC funding.
Needless to say given my previous comments, I'm in favor of new construction vs the Masonic Temple move by a long shot so although I'm still not excited about this, it's good news to me... relatively speaking. I love the Masonic Temple Building but I think it's better used as a multipurpose venue similar to the BOB in GR or the Masonic Temple in Detroit, or possibly used as an annex to a future hotel/residential tower on the lot next door.
It kinda ended up being a non story today as the only additional info offered is that the building might also house CATA's HQ and that it will be around 75k sq ft. I have so many questions: Is 75k sq ft without the potential space for CATA? Could CATA end having their own wing, annex or building? Is the intention to bring the city offices from the N Capitol ramp or other locations into the new city hall or is that a possibility (I hope so)? Will the mayor and council really hardline stick to a $40m budget? Are they planning on trying to get away without a parking garage? I assume that could be bonded separately through the parking system? (These questions are rhetorical, I don't expect them to be answered yet)
I'm very curious as to how it will be sited, that they're working with LHC is very promising in that regard. As for the Baryames lot, I can't imagine the combination of city hall, a parking ramp and a 4-5 floor ~60 unit building would need a whole block, although siting the City Hall to Kalamazoo & Grand would be much, much more desirable. I'm just hoping for a 6+ floor building of good build quality with a nice lobby/entrance and a public plaza/courtyard preferably oriented to the corner that the building is oriented to. If they do get the whole block there should be room to expand LHC's project, sell off some portion of the property for development or perhaps create another mid block or interior courtyard/plaza/public space/park.
That the LHC bought Eyde's property for another go at their phase 2 project leaves me with mixed feelings. Even assuming this is mixed-income or entirely workforce housing, I'm worried about having LHC manage more apartments in general, much less downtown, much less with them so near me. On the other hand, it would provide some mid block density on Grand while leaving the MBA property for future development. If I could somehow know that the project wouldn't bring significant problems with it, I'd be all for it. Thanks for the insight on that @citykid
There's no insight on the building itself but there are a lot of quotes from Schor and councilmembers on the process and the politics. One snippet of info the article does seem to imply is that the CATA move will be all of its offices from Tranter Dr, not just a partial move as was stated with the apartment development. They also reminded me of the school district's potential move to the Masonic Hall with the city which leaves me wondering if the LSD may still be considering moving with the city to this new site?
I saw an interview with the developer who is very excited about buying City Hall and turning it into a first-class hotel. He is the same developer who had been wanting to develop the City Hall for the former mayor and seemed very much into getting the project going. I was a little surprised to hear that, as it has been years since the plan was first brought up. It all sounds good; I hope some council person does not decide to screw this up.
Comments
Some councilmembers sound skeptical, this is a positive imo. How about bonding out another $20-$40 million more and doing a competitive RFP? Something about city hall being in a crowded in mid-block building doesn't sit well with me. It should be on a prominent corner, I know it seems minor but I think it's important.
https://www.wilx.com/2024/05/08/lansing-mayor-schor-announce-future-city-hall-location/
EDIT: I take that back, it looks like they're proposing it for the lot at Grand and Lenawee that was almost sold to Boji for the apartments/CATA offices. I can live with the location, it's just a matter of what are they going to build. I can only hope that they're willing to bond at least a little money to ensure it's building that will meet the cities needs and be something to be proud of.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2024/05/08/lansing-city-hall-proposal-grand-avenue-masonic-temple/73614759007/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2xN0WCKRy6lCbg1XnupGUGfvd5WbZjtDrI2bPJLdsYq36Zdd0FPIGsoRM_aem_AfoTShxpb6SzC3sumHTYGcGi1kOPlUdcZLYgfLEXLUqfzhkiTe_VNgEdye9mgEOoTKuQnCzMpUa7Sc7lcGr6aJ-o
Does this mean that the plans for housing and a CATA headquarters are no longer under consideration?
It kinda ended up being a non story today as the only additional info offered is that the building might also house CATA's HQ and that it will be around 75k sq ft. I have so many questions: Is 75k sq ft without the potential space for CATA? Could CATA end having their own wing, annex or building? Is the intention to bring the city offices from the N Capitol ramp or other locations into the new city hall or is that a possibility (I hope so)? Will the mayor and council really hardline stick to a $40m budget? Are they planning on trying to get away without a parking garage? I assume that could be bonded separately through the parking system? (These questions are rhetorical, I don't expect them to be answered yet)
I'm very curious as to how it will be sited, that they're working with LHC is very promising in that regard. As for the Baryames lot, I can't imagine the combination of city hall, a parking ramp and a 4-5 floor ~60 unit building would need a whole block, although siting the City Hall to Kalamazoo & Grand would be much, much more desirable. I'm just hoping for a 6+ floor building of good build quality with a nice lobby/entrance and a public plaza/courtyard preferably oriented to the corner that the building is oriented to. If they do get the whole block there should be room to expand LHC's project, sell off some portion of the property for development or perhaps create another mid block or interior courtyard/plaza/public space/park.
That the LHC bought Eyde's property for another go at their phase 2 project leaves me with mixed feelings. Even assuming this is mixed-income or entirely workforce housing, I'm worried about having LHC manage more apartments in general, much less downtown, much less with them so near me. On the other hand, it would provide some mid block density on Grand while leaving the MBA property for future development. If I could somehow know that the project wouldn't bring significant problems with it, I'd be all for it. Thanks for the insight on that @citykid
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2024/05/09/lansing-city-hall-proposal-grand-avenue-cata-masonic-temple/73625534007/
https://www.wlns.com/news/new-location-for-city-hall-announced-in-lansing/
https://lansingcitypulse.com/stories/schor-proposes-old-center-for-the-arts-property-for-a-new-lansing-city-hall,96007
There's no insight on the building itself but there are a lot of quotes from Schor and councilmembers on the process and the politics. One snippet of info the article does seem to imply is that the CATA move will be all of its offices from Tranter Dr, not just a partial move as was stated with the apartment development. They also reminded me of the school district's potential move to the Masonic Hall with the city which leaves me wondering if the LSD may still be considering moving with the city to this new site?