It will be great to see the hilltop there fully developed. I was out that way and noticed the construction of a Panda Express and the east side if Eastwood right next to the highway. I am sure there of a lot of people who love Panda Express, but does Lansing need another? That is why I am happy to hear about a more unique and interesting restaurant is being planned for the west side of the Eastwood area.
There's another showing of the 108 Howard LLC project in the October 18th planning commission agenda, I'm growing more curious as to what this is exactly.
The August 16th minutes do offer a few insights though: While it offers no direct details, the list of questions/requirements brought to the developers attention do suggest: that there will be residential and commercial across multiple buildings, the developer wants on-street parking on Detroit St, some apartments will have balconies, there will be an off-site dog park and there was a point about ensuring that maximum heights conform with height regulations (which would seem to imply that this may be more than just some 3 floor suburban-style project or that plans were overly vague).
Every time Lansing Township gets brought up it hurts my brain and brings on a bit of rage, It's pointless trying to critique or make sense of their actions. I emailed a township official when I made the last post and he got back to me simply to say that he couldn't share any documents and encouraged me to come to the meeting. He briefly described the project as such: "This is early in the process but the proposed development includes some mixed use including retail, apartments and climate controlled storage."
Of all the things the township is looking for changes on they seem unbothered by this land being used as a self storage facility, I just don't get it. This is why I do my best to just ignore what goes in the township.
The November 7th board meeting minutes give a little more info on the Howard & Michigan project: It will have 168 units of residential in a five floor building with the storage in a four floor building and parking in between the buildings. It's not clear if there will be any ground floor commercial space in either building or whether the parking will be in a structure or surface lots.
I'm not sure what Lansing Twp's approval process but they did approve this step. While a storage facility in that area is disappointing the added density on Michigan Ave is welcome, especially given the current state of that lot.
I know Lansing Township's planner won't give out any comprehensive information so I'm not even bothering to ask, but a self-storage development is being pitched for Michigan Avenue Park/Waverly Golf Course at tonight's Planning Commission meeting. I'm sure WestPark has gone belly-up since their website is down, but what an absolute joke for this area. I wasn't a fan of developing the land in the first place but to be left with a car wash and self-storage is just *chef's kiss* for Lansing metro.
*Edit: apparently I missed this because they didn't upload the agenda and it was first heard in March but tabled. I didn't get many details from the meeting minutes but sounds like once minor conditions are fixed it will pass.
I often wonder about the self-storage business. In Greater Lansing there must be thousands of units, and now they want to build more! What is profit for the owners? These facilities are in my mind the most anti-human anti-neighborhood ugly useless things they could build in an urban area. They are also spreading in rural Michigan faster than Dollar Generals. Lansing should have kept that land and developed a [possibly!] much better plan than a car wash and a self-storage business. We need housing, this land could be the site for some really nice housing spread in and around the hills and glens of the former golf course.
Self storage is one of the 'passive business' models that are touted by tik tok finance and the like. It's up there with laundrymats, car washes, and vending machines.
I won't lie, I've debated spending time researching it. It seems like a solid business in economically depressed areas where people are more transient.
Really? With all the demand for housing they can't figure out something better? Lansing Township itself is heavily invested in Eastwood, I imagine that's all they really care about. I'm mostly disappointed in Lansing Township residents at this point, they are the ones ultimately responsible for their elected officials and the only ones who can spur change. (And yeah, Lansing Township's agenda center might be the worst among local municipalities. Basically useless for learning about anything they're doing).
I too am dumbfounded by the prevalence of self storage places. Even now there's a large 4-floor facility slated to be built out near Grand River and Dobie and a 4-floor one slated for the Michigan & Howard project, that's on top of the numerous other ones opened over the past 10 or 15 years. Why are people paying so much to store stuff that isn't useful enough to keep in their house/apartment? I know multiple people who've paid for units filled with random household stuff for many years before eventually getting rid of it and keeping very little of what was in there. I don't get it.
Comments
A new restaurant with a wine tasting room and retail shop will build a 10k sq ft building at Wood & Lake Lansing:
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/10/12/new-restaurant-winery-coopers-hawk-eastwood-towne-center/71085297007/
A subscriber-only lsj story on how Lansing Twp has granted a site plan extension for the 22k sq ft Dave & Busters that's supposed to built near Fairfield Inn, a representative for the developer issued a statement saying the delays are beyond their control and that they are still committed to the project:
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/10/10/dave-busters-delayed-still-committed-lansing-township/71085275007/
The August 16th minutes do offer a few insights though: While it offers no direct details, the list of questions/requirements brought to the developers attention do suggest: that there will be residential and commercial across multiple buildings, the developer wants on-street parking on Detroit St, some apartments will have balconies, there will be an off-site dog park and there was a point about ensuring that maximum heights conform with height regulations (which would seem to imply that this may be more than just some 3 floor suburban-style project or that plans were overly vague).
Of all the things the township is looking for changes on they seem unbothered by this land being used as a self storage facility, I just don't get it. This is why I do my best to just ignore what goes in the township.
I'm not sure what Lansing Twp's approval process but they did approve this step. While a storage facility in that area is disappointing the added density on Michigan Ave is welcome, especially given the current state of that lot.
*Edit: apparently I missed this because they didn't upload the agenda and it was first heard in March but tabled. I didn't get many details from the meeting minutes but sounds like once minor conditions are fixed it will pass.
I won't lie, I've debated spending time researching it. It seems like a solid business in economically depressed areas where people are more transient.
I too am dumbfounded by the prevalence of self storage places. Even now there's a large 4-floor facility slated to be built out near Grand River and Dobie and a 4-floor one slated for the Michigan & Howard project, that's on top of the numerous other ones opened over the past 10 or 15 years. Why are people paying so much to store stuff that isn't useful enough to keep in their house/apartment? I know multiple people who've paid for units filled with random household stuff for many years before eventually getting rid of it and keeping very little of what was in there. I don't get it.