interesting opinion piece in the LSJ the other day on the market business plan... it'll be interesting to see how that whole thing plays out since it seemed like it was going to be a major sticking point and then at the end of the day it turned out to be very moot. I think any business plan that is good for the city market finds ways to use ancillary attractions to make the market reach a more broad spectrum of users... so not just for the sole purpose of people buying food, but rather attending events, concerts, 5k start/finish points, etc. One thing that will definitely drive the success of the new market is the retail mix of the development. I'm not sure how retail users will feel about that area since it is pretty tough with access from Larch (having to cross shiawassee to get there from the highway)... I can see a lot of restaurant/bar types of places feeding off of convention and ball park users but what we really need are the retailers that people will go to on a saturday morning... clothing, home furnishing, etc. Hopefully the volume of residents with capitol club tower, ottawa butler, and this development will help a little bit higher quality retail locate downtown successfully.
The roof makes it look a little like the current city market. It's interesting how the rivertrail will change the material used near the city market and extend over the river.
LEPFA officials said they will finalize designs and put the project out to bid by mid-February.
Construction is supposed to start in April and be completed by late October, according to Eric Hart, LEPFA's president and chief executive officer. He is overseeing a $1.6 million budget for the project.
East Lansing developer Pat Gillespie will tear down the old city market and begin construction on Market Place - a $24 million to $30 million mix of retail, office and residential space - after the new city market is complete.
I think the design is pretty bland also, but I didn't really expect it to look too fancy, although they could use more brick, as opposed what they have on there now (corrugated metal?). I do love the site plan though, it ought to make for a nice continuation of the boardwalk next to the Lansing Center.
Yeah, $1.6 million is a pretty tight budget, I'm surprised they can even build it for that price. I think the Riverwalk and plaza part will help to make up for the City Market building itself, besides I'm sure it won't be too bad. I just can't wait to see this get started on, it seems so close now.
Interesting to see how the project brings out the grand river, although I was surprise to see the design. As many comments said it looks rather bland, one thing I thought it looks unstable... Glad to see projects in downtown Lansing, seems like the city may be improving.
Anyone know the crime data for 2008?
The FBI (the "official" source) won't be releasing their data until well into next year. But I think LPD releases some stats themselves early in the year, you can always contact them to see. I do know that the last murder we had was our 10th confirmed murder for the year.
Comments
From the LSJ article today:
Anyone know the crime data for 2008?