I'm pretty sure that site plan is older, I posted the same site plan in this thread on March 19, 2011. I certainly hope that they don't plan on building an office building like that there.
I posted it, because it's the latest siteplan that the Gillespie Group has posted on their facebook page. Hopefully, it's a placeholder site plan, because the Facebook comments on it weren't all positive, either.
There is finally a news blurb in the LSJ, today, reporting on the project. Doesn't say anything we don't know, here, but it gives the height of the first phase as being 5 stories (which I guess is a little news since I'd always heard four floors) and 80-units. They also reiterate that more buildings will be built on the site as demand warrants.
I was going to bring this up, yesterday, but thought my eyes were deceiving me. Anyway, the City Pulse is confirming what I saw, and that is that Market Place officially started construction on Monday.
One of these days, they are actually going to put out some information on this besides the unit-count. lol Seriously, I've never seen a developer less excited about a project.
I agree, not much of a web site yet. But it's a positive development. At least once a week I drive along Cedar/Shiawassee, or ride along the River Trail, near the Marketplace to check on the construction progress. At least now that it has an actual web site, I'm hoping we'll see more construction activity at the site soon. (Though the Capitol Cub tower also had a web site...)
Oh, I do want to be clear, there is actual construction going on on this site unlike Capitol Club. There is already some small retaining wall at the southeast corner of the site that's been constructed. They've already removed some of the old utilities at the northeast corner of the site, so this may be where they are moving them to. Plus, they have an agreement with the city that they HAVE to develop the site or face some pretty stiff financial penalities, which is the only reason Gillespie moved on this in the first place, this summer.
Speaking of Capitol Club, I was just thinking about the project the other day. I've always wondered if the owner (who owns the neighboring parking garage) would ever reconsider it? Even if reduced to only a few floors, I'd like to see something on that site.
Absolutely, I agree with you. In driving by Marketplace today on my way home, I saw more activity at the site. I remember with the Capitol Club, thinking great they have a web site now, it may mean progress... Certainly the difference here is that construction on Marketplace has actually begun (rather than just demolition of an existing structure).
I definitely would like to see something - mixed use? - built on the Capitol Club site. That that area of downtown (with the exception of the Grand Tower) feels sparse to me.
One project, in addition to the Capitol Club, that I wish would have materialized was the City Center Studios. It was unique and seemed to complement the nearby Stadium district well.
More related to the Marketplace & Ballpark North... Any update on Ballpark North? My understanding is that it is contingent to the proposed casino downtown (e.g. if the casino is built, then a parking garage goes there. If no casino, then..?)
Yeah, I've always envisioned retail lining Grand. Currently, the westside of the street is basically parking and back-house for Washington Avenue, which seems like a waste of incredibly prime property.
As for City Center Studios, with Snyder having basically crippled the film industry with cutting the tax rebates, we're not going to see any new studios built. The ones that made it before he was elected are struggling themselves to stay relevant, unfortunately. So, we're not going to see any new construction for the film industry in Michigan.
As for Ballpark North, so long as the casino plans are still alive - and it sounds to me like the tribe and city would be willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court - so is the parking garage concept for Ballpark North. What's clear is that Gillespie is not building housing on that site, regardless of what happens, especially since he's not even committing to the second building of Marketplace, yet.
Unfortunately, unless other outside developers have a bit more faith in the local economy than Gillespie does, large-scale downtown projects will probably languish for some time into the forseeable future. I just wish they still had the same faith in the city that they did in 2006-2007 when we had major projects being proposed every month. Studies by Downtown Lansing, Inc. showed back then that there was demand, still, for hundreds more residential units in the immediate downtown area. The demand is there, but developers really need to take the leap, again, and just do it.
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http://marketplacelansing.com/
One of these days, they are actually going to put out some information on this besides the unit-count. lol Seriously, I've never seen a developer less excited about a project.
Speaking of Capitol Club, I was just thinking about the project the other day. I've always wondered if the owner (who owns the neighboring parking garage) would ever reconsider it? Even if reduced to only a few floors, I'd like to see something on that site.
I definitely would like to see something - mixed use? - built on the Capitol Club site. That that area of downtown (with the exception of the Grand Tower) feels sparse to me.
One project, in addition to the Capitol Club, that I wish would have materialized was the City Center Studios. It was unique and seemed to complement the nearby Stadium district well.
More related to the Marketplace & Ballpark North... Any update on Ballpark North? My understanding is that it is contingent to the proposed casino downtown (e.g. if the casino is built, then a parking garage goes there. If no casino, then..?)
As for City Center Studios, with Snyder having basically crippled the film industry with cutting the tax rebates, we're not going to see any new studios built. The ones that made it before he was elected are struggling themselves to stay relevant, unfortunately. So, we're not going to see any new construction for the film industry in Michigan.
As for Ballpark North, so long as the casino plans are still alive - and it sounds to me like the tribe and city would be willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court - so is the parking garage concept for Ballpark North. What's clear is that Gillespie is not building housing on that site, regardless of what happens, especially since he's not even committing to the second building of Marketplace, yet.
Unfortunately, unless other outside developers have a bit more faith in the local economy than Gillespie does, large-scale downtown projects will probably languish for some time into the forseeable future. I just wish they still had the same faith in the city that they did in 2006-2007 when we had major projects being proposed every month. Studies by Downtown Lansing, Inc. showed back then that there was demand, still, for hundreds more residential units in the immediate downtown area. The demand is there, but developers really need to take the leap, again, and just do it.