Not to be a downer, but the first proposal for City Center II (then Michigan Museum Place) was before 2006. My first post in the [East Lansing Development forum over at UP] from August 2005 references an already dated proposal for the site. There was a new proposal in November 2005 - [Michigan Museum Place thread - UP]
I guess that's even worse that the project location has outlived this site. In less time, Stonehouse is on their third project and could even approach a fourth before any ground is broken.
The two sides still need to work out the sale price of the Downtown Development Authority properties on Abbot Road and Evergreen Avenue, the repurchase of the parking garage by the city and a parking agreement, according to a Jan. 18 letter to Pierson by City Attorney Thomas Yeadon.
"The ball is in their court," Meadows said. "If they don't like what's in the agreement, then they need to make proposals they do like. And it can't be any they already proposed because we already rejected those."
One of the things Pierson said could be considered in the development agreement could be the inclusion of the city parking lot next to Dublin's Square. He said that could be later developed to make the project more feasible for Convexity.
I'm a bit confused by the wrangling over parking. What do they mean by a repurchase of the garage?
I'm not sure, but in the existing agreement I thought that the developer would finance and build the garage then sell it back to the city. I'd assume what they're talking about here is renegotiating that deal somehow.
No concrete information is given, but apparently some time ago MSU sent out an RFP for housing the university's 300-350 visiting scholars and there were no viable options, now they are working with the developer of City Center II to possibly use the corner space there. The article isn't really clear as to whether there are 300-350 scholars on campus at any given time or if that's the total over the course of a year so it's hard to discern how large of a project this may be. This looks to be pretty promising as MSU seems interested in getting more involved in off campus affairs, particularly downtown East Lansing:
(From a letter sent by MSU to East Lansing neighborhood groups): “MSU shares the vision of a vibrant downtown with the citizens of East Lansing to attract top talent who can go anywhere in the world. The university recruits the best and brightest each year and in order to attract and retain faculty and staff, the university would like to work with the city to eliminate blight and revitalize the downtown area.”
The article goes on to mention that the university is "potentially interested in eventually trying to provide some kind of retirement housing options near the university." And that it would "like to see more upscale residential condo-type options for wealthier alumni who visit the university 30-40 times a year for events, including games." This is all very good news.
Having MSU as a partner with Convexity instantly makes this project financially viable if they can work out something. That's hundreds of additional potential units. It's unfortunate MSU let this drag on this long, though, quite honestly. It'd be great if the university and city had a better relationship so that one could pick up when and where the other is deficient.
Very interesting! I had not really considered MSU jumping across the street. The housing for temporary resident employees is a need that I was not aware of. I also hope this makes the whole thing a go and it does not get shrink treatment in size and quality as often happens around here. This corner is important to the whole community not just East Lansing, they should try to be more pro-active and let them build there.
It sounds like they are going to expand the project north to include the parking lot on the between Albert Ave and Dublin Square. However at the same time, I think they are going to reduce the height of the building at the corner of Abbot and Grand River.
I would be happy with six-story buildings along Abbot Road here, as I hope it would push some of the demand across the street and in to the Albert Avenue Lot and the surrounding buildings.
The LSJ had an article out this morning on the project. They are scrapping the current plan, but say that it will still include a hotel. I don't see anything that imply they are seeking a significantly shorter structure, though.
Anyway, it looks like the council granted an extension to the developer. The deadline is now April 30, with the developer to go back before the planning commission on March 8. Looks like unsurprisingly, vice mayor Ruth Beier was the sole vote against the extension of the deadline, and I'm almost certain it's not because she thinks there is another proposal coming down the pike. She'd probably be happy to see that corner sit and rot for another decade.
Comments
Not to be a downer, but the first proposal for City Center II (then Michigan Museum Place) was before 2006. My first post in the [East Lansing Development forum over at UP] from August 2005 references an already dated proposal for the site. There was a new proposal in November 2005 - [Michigan Museum Place thread - UP]
I guess that's even worse that the project location has outlived this site. In less time, Stonehouse is on their third project and could even approach a fourth before any ground is broken.
The developers want to give this another go to see if they can make this work. Some sticking points:
I'm a bit confused by the wrangling over parking. What do they mean by a repurchase of the garage?
I'm not sure, but in the existing agreement I thought that the developer would finance and build the garage then sell it back to the city. I'd assume what they're talking about here is renegotiating that deal somehow.
This could certainly change things: MSU Making Play for Blighted Corner
No concrete information is given, but apparently some time ago MSU sent out an RFP for housing the university's 300-350 visiting scholars and there were no viable options, now they are working with the developer of City Center II to possibly use the corner space there. The article isn't really clear as to whether there are 300-350 scholars on campus at any given time or if that's the total over the course of a year so it's hard to discern how large of a project this may be. This looks to be pretty promising as MSU seems interested in getting more involved in off campus affairs, particularly downtown East Lansing:
(From a letter sent by MSU to East Lansing neighborhood groups): “MSU shares the vision of a vibrant downtown with the citizens of East Lansing to attract top talent who can go anywhere in the world. The university recruits the best and brightest each year and in order to attract and retain faculty and staff, the university would like to work with the city to eliminate blight and revitalize the downtown area.”
The article goes on to mention that the university is "potentially interested in eventually trying to provide some kind of retirement housing options near the university." And that it would "like to see more upscale residential condo-type options for wealthier alumni who visit the university 30-40 times a year for events, including games." This is all very good news.
Having MSU as a partner with Convexity instantly makes this project financially viable if they can work out something. That's hundreds of additional potential units. It's unfortunate MSU let this drag on this long, though, quite honestly. It'd be great if the university and city had a better relationship so that one could pick up when and where the other is deficient.
Very interesting! I had not really considered MSU jumping across the street. The housing for temporary resident employees is a need that I was not aware of. I also hope this makes the whole thing a go and it does not get shrink treatment in size and quality as often happens around here. This corner is important to the whole community not just East Lansing, they should try to be more pro-active and let them build there.
It sounds like they are going to expand the project north to include the parking lot on the between Albert Ave and Dublin Square. However at the same time, I think they are going to reduce the height of the building at the corner of Abbot and Grand River.
I would be happy with six-story buildings along Abbot Road here, as I hope it would push some of the demand across the street and in to the Albert Avenue Lot and the surrounding buildings.
The LSJ had an article out this morning on the project. They are scrapping the current plan, but say that it will still include a hotel. I don't see anything that imply they are seeking a significantly shorter structure, though.
Anyway, it looks like the council granted an extension to the developer. The deadline is now April 30, with the developer to go back before the planning commission on March 8. Looks like unsurprisingly, vice mayor Ruth Beier was the sole vote against the extension of the deadline, and I'm almost certain it's not because she thinks there is another proposal coming down the pike. She'd probably be happy to see that corner sit and rot for another decade.
I can't find where I saw a shorter structure being mentioned, but this ELi article mentions that the developer may remove all residential options from the project due to East Lansing's strict ordinance 1384. The building would only have retail and hotel at that point, so a smaller building would be understandable.