A press release today regarding the Stadium District says that the last piece of steel has been added and five condos have been sold already. It also said that half of the retail space had been leased to the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce, Briarwood Realty, and 5/3 Bank.
The most interesting commercial tennants have not officially been announced yet (im not sure if their leases are finalized,) there is supposed to be a "wine bar" and another "trendy" type bar and of course, a coffee shop.
The only thing about the space behind the Stadium District is that they have to leave a reasonable amount of space so that people arent looking directly out at a parking garage or into someone elses window. But the city definately needs to build a sizable parking ramp around Oldsmobile park in the very near future. In fact I think they should have done it awhile ago, and as the surface lots are developed they are going to be forced to do it.
I wonder if this Stadium District project has stalled out a bit. I was in EL this past weekend to see "Wicked" and my girlfriend and I went downtown to see the development after eating at Emil's. It really doesn't look any different than the pictures LMich posted at the beginning of the month. Hope they get going on that project before students start coming down for Thirsty Thursdays in August so that they might have something more final to look at.
I'm not saying that it looks like some sort of atrocity at this point, and that it's ugliness burns my retinas. Just that students who come downtown once MSU starts back up may not realize what exactly it is right away, and that it would leave much more of an impression on those students if they had something a little more final to eye.
That awning is a drive-thru for the bank, not parking. I agree that they have slowed a little in their progress. And the Gillespie should be pushing construction along, time is money. It costs huge amounts of money in interest and taxes on a property that valueble, the longer its not earning money because of delays, the more it hurts.
Well, as I went to a couple Lugnuts games in the past month, I can attest to the HUGE sign that is on the Stadium District that says "Condos for Sale", and I am sure anybody who looks at the building can picture what is coming. The front did seem to stall, as there has been less "white paper" on the steel in the front (probably some form of insulation), but I am not worried about it.
Really guys, I'm not trying to chastize Gillespie for appearing to slow down the front of the building, and I'm sure the development is making progress in other areas.
All I'm saying, and it's not like I think it's the end of the future of downtown Lansing if it doesn't happen, is that some students, as well as other residents, may not be curious enough to take 2 seconds out of their busy schedules and look at the Stadium District sign to get an idea of what the development is. If the front facade was a little further along, it would give everyone a better idea of what the final structure would look like without having to dig around for a picture or rendering.
As far as I can tell from the info I get from here, and having looked closely at the development downtown, it looks like it's going well and will be a welcome addition to downtown's landscape.
Will it affect condo sales if they take a little more time to finish the exterior? Probably not. However, the sooner the exterior is finished/close to finished, the sooner those passing by the development will take more than one glance.
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All I'm saying, and it's not like I think it's the end of the future of downtown Lansing if it doesn't happen, is that some students, as well as other residents, may not be curious enough to take 2 seconds out of their busy schedules and look at the Stadium District sign to get an idea of what the development is. If the front facade was a little further along, it would give everyone a better idea of what the final structure would look like without having to dig around for a picture or rendering.
As far as I can tell from the info I get from here, and having looked closely at the development downtown, it looks like it's going well and will be a welcome addition to downtown's landscape.
Will it affect condo sales if they take a little more time to finish the exterior? Probably not. However, the sooner the exterior is finished/close to finished, the sooner those passing by the development will take more than one glance.