At first glance I thought the rendering was looking north/northwest at Abbott and Grand RIver also, but looking closer I'm pretty sure it's looking west/southwest with Abbott across the foreground.
It looks like a nice building and a good quality project, but I have absolutely zero faith that we'll ever see it happen. One can always hope though...
I envision this development as being similar to University Place. I don't know how tall is University Place but a 10-story building seems very tall for East Lansing. Also, I don't if underground parking is a good idea. It is very expensive and there are safety considerations.
I'll be satisfied as long as whatever they build is compatible with EL and continues to promote a nice vibrant downtown. Still, as I've said, I would prefer adding a more architecturally-oriented structure to our downtown, even if its smaller and less profitable.
Both HopCat and the Marriott are 8 stories so I don't think 10 stories is that much different. Spartan Stadium is 160ft tall (equivalent to 13-16 stories tall). What safety concerns do you have with underground parking?
Maybe I am over reacting but I've always thought of underground parking as a bad idea in terms of criminality and those things. Also, aren't there enough parking spaces in downtown EL?
Yeah there are probably enough parking spaces, except there are a large amount of people that aren't willing to walk more than 1 block from their car to their destination :-/
The Marriott has two floors of underground parking, and two ramps on MSU's campus go 1-2 floors underground. I don't think they have been a high target of crime relative to the above ground parking floors. They also are pretty nice to use in the winter since cars are kept about 5-10 degrees warmer and don't get hit with the snow drift.
So, to keep this discussion in this thread instead of in the general East Lansing thread...
The upcoming East Lansing City Council meeting on February 3 will have a hearing of the rezoning of 341-345 Evergreen to allow for the development of "Building B" of the Park District plan. This is the Evergreen Arms Apartments off of Valley Court Park.
EAST LANSING – A company looking to redevelop a blighted downtown East Lansing intersection says it is planning a smaller building in response to concerns that its original 10-story tower would be too tall.
Park District Investment Group LLC, which plans a $92 million overhaul at the corner of Grand River Avenue and Abbot Road, instead wants to build an eight-story building with apartments, retail and hotel rooms, revised site plans show.
East Lansing City Council tonight will discuss drafts of a development agreement and brownfield plan, revised site plans and a request to rezone property on Evergreen Avenue at a scheduled work session.
Council is not expected to take action.
The plans now call for 83 hotel rooms, instead of 120; 77 apartment units, instead of 102; and 273 underground parking spaces, rather than 283, city documents show.
Hotel Indigo, a boutique brand of British hotel chain InterContinental Hotels Group PLC, will remain part of the project, said Tom Eckhardt, an attorney representing PDIG.
I don't get East Lansing. The city has been having this debate for about a decade, and they still can't decide. Or, rather, this kind of overwrought debate has been the status quo in the city for decades and sends exactly the kind of message they want to send. This may not be the best example to use given that the first developer was also a cause to a lot of the issues with this project. But, the questions as to the height and size are classic East Lansing. You'd think they were trying to build a skyscraper from the talk of the NIMBYs, some of them in city government. I think something missed by the most recent city council elections was that the big winner that night were NIMBYs.
Wow, I'm upset that the project is scaled down, but I guess I shouldn't get too caught up in it because I don't have any confidence that the project will even go forward with the reduced size. It really is a wonder how this property can sit like this for so long, and to add on to it the amazing patience that Hotel Indigo has had!
I know, right? Before I got to that part of the story I was thinking in my head "They are going to tell me Hotel Indigo pulled." And, to my surprise, they are stricking on this disaster of a project. I guess it just shows how badly they want to be in downtown East Lansing, because they could have easily pulled out and found somewhere else in the region or some other city, entirely. As a Lasingite, I kind of wish they'd have just said "We're moving to downtown Lansing, instead." lol But, seriously, you know how much Virg would be falling all over himself to be having these kind of problems? lol
Speak of the devil. I went and looked up the project's page on the City of East Lansing's website, and Hotel Indigo almost did bolt, and was going to look at sites in Lansing, Lansing Township and Meridian Township before the developer did some behind the schenes jujitsu to get them back
Comments
It looks like a nice building and a good quality project, but I have absolutely zero faith that we'll ever see it happen. One can always hope though...
I'll be satisfied as long as whatever they build is compatible with EL and continues to promote a nice vibrant downtown. Still, as I've said, I would prefer adding a more architecturally-oriented structure to our downtown, even if its smaller and less profitable.
The Marriott has two floors of underground parking, and two ramps on MSU's campus go 1-2 floors underground. I don't think they have been a high target of crime relative to the above ground parking floors. They also are pretty nice to use in the winter since cars are kept about 5-10 degrees warmer and don't get hit with the snow drift.
The upcoming East Lansing City Council meeting on February 3 will have a hearing of the rezoning of 341-345 Evergreen to allow for the development of "Building B" of the Park District plan. This is the Evergreen Arms Apartments off of Valley Court Park.
Building B Site Plan
Building B Rendering
And, to jog everyone's memory, here are the pages for "Building A" where the Citizens Bank Building currently stand.
Building A Site Plan
Building A Elevation Drawing
Building A Rendering
Buildings C, D, and E, of course, are in limbo since city didn't garner enough support to sell them.
I don't get East Lansing. The city has been having this debate for about a decade, and they still can't decide. Or, rather, this kind of overwrought debate has been the status quo in the city for decades and sends exactly the kind of message they want to send. This may not be the best example to use given that the first developer was also a cause to a lot of the issues with this project. But, the questions as to the height and size are classic East Lansing. You'd think they were trying to build a skyscraper from the talk of the NIMBYs, some of them in city government. I think something missed by the most recent city council elections was that the big winner that night were NIMBYs.
Memo of Revised Project
Also, here are the elevations and plants for the revised building:
Revised Site Plan
Revised Elevations
Looks like this would rise to a height of 114'-4".