Thinking of that area, it could be a small hub,[Outer REOtown or The Walter French Neighborhood ] the school building could house a lot of residents, they could support area small businesses that might extend up Mt. Hope to S Washington. A traffic circle at Cedar and Mt Hope might tame the traffic on Cedar, and make a more pleasant area for business to redevelop. Meanwhile there is some very poor housing on those blocks that should be removed. I have noticed they seem to be renovating the former Asian restaurant on Mt. Hope across from French. It would great to see the lower rung businesses like car lots, discount carpet stores,closed service stations and the like be replaced with with something better.
Thanks for the info, that restaurant always looked closed, I am surprised to hear about it. My older brothers and sister went to French, I think that building could be turned into something really nice. That would help to pull up the surrounding neighborhood. The neighborhood to the south of Mt.Hope is still a nice area, with many different styles of homes, and curving shaded streets. It would be great if those folks could use businesses right around the corner.
I believe REO Town's "Border" is Cedar St (East) the Grand river(West) Malcolm X (North) and Mt Hope (South). Some people refer to the area south as "SoMo" (SOuth of MOunt Hope)
I think "The French Neighborhood" could work, from the school name not the language. Most Lansing neighborhoods were known by the schools there in the old days.
I feel like extending REO town further south than Baker and East of the plot lines along Washington is a stretch. Fabulous Acres is an established (if unattractive) community in that area.
I think "South Side" could be a good name. People might associate that with South Lansing at first, which is more like the Far South Side, but I think that'd sort out of over time. The businesses near Cedar just south of the river made up South Lansing's original business district, so the name makes sense to me.
I think "North Side" would be good for Old U.S. 27 heading north of Old Town.
I like South Side, that could cover a large area, and is different than "South Lansing". I could be wrong but wasn't the drive in theater on Cedar were the Mega-Mall is now called The North Side Drive In? Back in the day we called all of the area North Lansing which included "Old Town". It was the center of the Latino community back then. I like the North Side it is easy to say, but isn't there already a North Town? Back in Boston there is Southie [South Boston] and the South End two very different places that are pretty far apart. Maybe two neighborhoods with the same sounding name could be confusing.
I know in the 3rd Ward we have the South Side Community Coalition based at Holmes/Pleasant Grove, and that area is going to get some placemaking upgrades in the near future. There's some chatter about what to call that region too. I've been trying to do some research and that intersection historically had a school there long before there were neighborhoods- but I can't find the original school name yet. I figure a historical name like that might be good.
The old school on the corner of Holmes and Pleasant Grove was called "Pleasant Grove Elementary". After that, I believe it was "New City Academy". Malcolm X attended Pleasant Grove Elementary.
gbdinlansing: There is a North Town. Don't think it's that popular of a neighborhood name, though. Of course you could always use North Town instead of North Side, or make North Town part of North Side. I just think the East Side nickname works so well, why not expand on it? The whole sides thing makes sense to people and Lansing does have distinct east, west, north and south sides.
Comments
Thinking of that area, it could be a small hub,[Outer REOtown or The Walter French Neighborhood ] the school building could house a lot of residents, they could support area small businesses that might extend up Mt. Hope to S Washington. A traffic circle at Cedar and Mt Hope might tame the traffic on Cedar, and make a more pleasant area for business to redevelop. Meanwhile there is some very poor housing on those blocks that should be removed. I have noticed they seem to be renovating the former Asian restaurant on Mt. Hope across from French. It would great to see the lower rung businesses like car lots, discount carpet stores,closed service stations and the like be replaced with with something better.
Thanks for the info, that restaurant always looked closed, I am surprised to hear about it. My older brothers and sister went to French, I think that building could be turned into something really nice. That would help to pull up the surrounding neighborhood. The neighborhood to the south of Mt.Hope is still a nice area, with many different styles of homes, and curving shaded streets. It would be great if those folks could use businesses right around the corner.
I believe REO Town's "Border" is Cedar St (East) the Grand river(West) Malcolm X (North) and Mt Hope (South). Some people refer to the area south as "SoMo" (SOuth of MOunt Hope)
I think "The French Neighborhood" could work, from the school name not the language. Most Lansing neighborhoods were known by the schools there in the old days.
I feel like extending REO town further south than Baker and East of the plot lines along Washington is a stretch. Fabulous Acres is an established (if unattractive) community in that area.
To me, REO Town starts just below South Street.
I think "South Side" could be a good name. People might associate that with South Lansing at first, which is more like the Far South Side, but I think that'd sort out of over time. The businesses near Cedar just south of the river made up South Lansing's original business district, so the name makes sense to me.
I think "North Side" would be good for Old U.S. 27 heading north of Old Town.
I like South Side, that could cover a large area, and is different than "South Lansing". I could be wrong but wasn't the drive in theater on Cedar were the Mega-Mall is now called The North Side Drive In? Back in the day we called all of the area North Lansing which included "Old Town". It was the center of the Latino community back then. I like the North Side it is easy to say, but isn't there already a North Town? Back in Boston there is Southie [South Boston] and the South End two very different places that are pretty far apart. Maybe two neighborhoods with the same sounding name could be confusing.
I know in the 3rd Ward we have the South Side Community Coalition based at Holmes/Pleasant Grove, and that area is going to get some placemaking upgrades in the near future. There's some chatter about what to call that region too. I've been trying to do some research and that intersection historically had a school there long before there were neighborhoods- but I can't find the original school name yet. I figure a historical name like that might be good.
The old school on the corner of Holmes and Pleasant Grove was called "Pleasant Grove Elementary". After that, I believe it was "New City Academy". Malcolm X attended Pleasant Grove Elementary.
gbdinlansing: There is a North Town. Don't think it's that popular of a neighborhood name, though. Of course you could always use North Town instead of North Side, or make North Town part of North Side. I just think the East Side nickname works so well, why not expand on it? The whole sides thing makes sense to people and Lansing does have distinct east, west, north and south sides.