Yes, this storefront and the one next door where the recording studio was has been painted on the outside. Now I remember seeing the sign about the jewelry store, that renovation has been quite extensive, with a regular construction crew on site. Across the street the renovation for the new Good Trukin Diner in progressing, I saw new window panes being delivered this week.
I'm getting excited about REO Town. People are drawn to the neighborhood. I'm always impressed by the amount of visitors on the weekend. People want more reasons to go down there. I feel like it's a matter of "when," rather than "if" REO Town will reach critical mass. It's the next Old Town.
I'd say REO Town has even more potential than Old Town, it has about as many "original" storefronts, has more room for expansion, is better tied in with downtown and is easier to get to. Old Town's value is sort of in it's smallness and quirkiness whereas REO Town will likely end up more like a continuation of downtown. I like the direction REO Town is headed in, I think critical mass has just about been reached already.
For me, critical mass will be when housing values spike and lofts get built. Maybe I've missed something but I don't think that's really happened yet. I'll say again that I think it's mostly a matter of time, though.
Lansing has always been a bit awkward size-wise. It's stuck in a weird no-man's-land between Springfield and Madison. It's not little enough to be some cute small community, but it's also not quite big enough to be considered a major metropolitan area. I think as it keeps growing, however, that it's finally going to reach that tipping point and attract developments that'll take it to the next level.
There have been improvements to the rental housing here in REOtown which lead to an increase in the number of people living down here. In my building, they have been in a process of replacing the 60's era aluminum framed windows with modern efficient windows, put in an all new laundry, the steam boiler has been totally rebuilt and provides nice warm apartments. My building is 95% rented. The large older building across the street is refurbishing the rental apartments one by one. I have seen more folks moving in there than I have ever noticed before. One of the big old houses on S Grand Ave. just this month has started to be rehabilitated. When I tell people I live in REOtown they reply the wish they could live here.
I like that Lansing is and always has been its own unique place, not part of some other metro area or one of a tri or twin cities somewhere. One thing I know for sure is that no one has ever described Lansing as cute!
There is a farmer's market at St. Casimir's parking lot on W. Barnes, it is on an odd day Thursday and starts at 3 pm so it is easy to forget about it. A farmer's market somewhere on S. Washington [maybe in the street]on a Friday or Saturday morning would be great and do well. St Vinny is very protective of his parking I don't think he would share.
In tree news, they have cleared all the large trees from the east side of the REOtown sign lot. I think this was on the former print shop property but perhaps this is in preparation for the new hotel. Across the street, on the western side of the river bank, they are cutting down all the large trees anywhere near the new steam pipe all the way down to the riverside. I am not sure why they are doing this, but it sure looks bad right now and folks on the back of my building now have a great view of the closed GM[Olds] buildings, steam pipes and a beat up parking lot. The wall is almost all the way to S Washington, it looks big. The BWL does what it wants because they know best! Right?
Sorry for the tree rant again, but it really looks so bad today you would not believe it. Maybe they are going to build a landing or something there, the plan does not put it over on the GM side. It was a nice green buffer from the industrial landscape that is gone now. I have lived places where you could not cut one tree on the river banks unless you went through several agencies and departments to get permission. I guess it is different here.
There is a new sign above the renovation in the 1200 block of S. Washinton that says "The Rusty Nail Opening Soon". It looks really nice outside. Just up the street, the MMJ shop says "temporarily closed". That shop used to draw a lot of people, maybe they will reopen, In the meantime, there is a lot more parking down there for the new restaurant.
Comments
Yes, this storefront and the one next door where the recording studio was has been painted on the outside. Now I remember seeing the sign about the jewelry store, that renovation has been quite extensive, with a regular construction crew on site. Across the street the renovation for the new Good Trukin Diner in progressing, I saw new window panes being delivered this week.
I'm getting excited about REO Town. People are drawn to the neighborhood. I'm always impressed by the amount of visitors on the weekend. People want more reasons to go down there. I feel like it's a matter of "when," rather than "if" REO Town will reach critical mass. It's the next Old Town.
I'd say REO Town has even more potential than Old Town, it has about as many "original" storefronts, has more room for expansion, is better tied in with downtown and is easier to get to. Old Town's value is sort of in it's smallness and quirkiness whereas REO Town will likely end up more like a continuation of downtown. I like the direction REO Town is headed in, I think critical mass has just about been reached already.
For me, critical mass will be when housing values spike and lofts get built. Maybe I've missed something but I don't think that's really happened yet. I'll say again that I think it's mostly a matter of time, though.
Lansing has always been a bit awkward size-wise. It's stuck in a weird no-man's-land between Springfield and Madison. It's not little enough to be some cute small community, but it's also not quite big enough to be considered a major metropolitan area. I think as it keeps growing, however, that it's finally going to reach that tipping point and attract developments that'll take it to the next level.
There have been improvements to the rental housing here in REOtown which lead to an increase in the number of people living down here. In my building, they have been in a process of replacing the 60's era aluminum framed windows with modern efficient windows, put in an all new laundry, the steam boiler has been totally rebuilt and provides nice warm apartments. My building is 95% rented. The large older building across the street is refurbishing the rental apartments one by one. I have seen more folks moving in there than I have ever noticed before. One of the big old houses on S Grand Ave. just this month has started to be rehabilitated. When I tell people I live in REOtown they reply the wish they could live here.
I like that Lansing is and always has been its own unique place, not part of some other metro area or one of a tri or twin cities somewhere. One thing I know for sure is that no one has ever described Lansing as cute!
Is there a farmer's market in REO town in the summertime? I think that the St. Vinny's parking lot would be the perfect place for one!
There is a farmer's market at St. Casimir's parking lot on W. Barnes, it is on an odd day Thursday and starts at 3 pm so it is easy to forget about it. A farmer's market somewhere on S. Washington [maybe in the street]on a Friday or Saturday morning would be great and do well. St Vinny is very protective of his parking I don't think he would share.
In tree news, they have cleared all the large trees from the east side of the REOtown sign lot. I think this was on the former print shop property but perhaps this is in preparation for the new hotel. Across the street, on the western side of the river bank, they are cutting down all the large trees anywhere near the new steam pipe all the way down to the riverside. I am not sure why they are doing this, but it sure looks bad right now and folks on the back of my building now have a great view of the closed GM[Olds] buildings, steam pipes and a beat up parking lot. The wall is almost all the way to S Washington, it looks big. The BWL does what it wants because they know best! Right?
Sorry for the tree rant again, but it really looks so bad today you would not believe it. Maybe they are going to build a landing or something there, the plan does not put it over on the GM side. It was a nice green buffer from the industrial landscape that is gone now. I have lived places where you could not cut one tree on the river banks unless you went through several agencies and departments to get permission. I guess it is different here.
There is a new sign above the renovation in the 1200 block of S. Washinton that says "The Rusty Nail Opening Soon". It looks really nice outside. Just up the street, the MMJ shop says "temporarily closed". That shop used to draw a lot of people, maybe they will reopen, In the meantime, there is a lot more parking down there for the new restaurant.