I hope they do something nice for downtown Okemos. In the past few years it has gone from a funky little neighborhoody crossroads to a ghost town. There must have been something like 5-10 small, independent businesses that have left that area.
The developer is Will Randle and he plans to invest $150 million in two phases. It seems that the DDA is really trying to help this plan succeed given the previous two dead-ends.
This is the same developer that proposed something for this area in May 2018 with Douglas J. The article here doens't mention Douglas J's involvement so it may be Randle going alone at it this time. The number has also jumped from $100 million to $150 million.
I don't know why the numbers keep getting inflated. I would be happy to see one $20 million development here first. Not everything needs to be a "grand slam" major development that rebuilds the whole downtown in one swing. I think often the really huge projects end up missing their mark and either never get built or are heavily tilted towards looking out of character.
Since this is moving forward without CADL money, it looks like the CADL properly called the developers bluff on this and didn't need to put up their own money to fund this development.
MERIDIAN TWP. – A local developer is moving forward with plans to restore the Four Corners area as a hub of activity in the Okemos area.
And his team is doing so without support from the Capital Area District Library.
Local developer Will Randle, who owns True North Development, is leading a team planning to invest $100 million in a two-block area around Hamilton Road. The area is bordered by Ardmore Avenue and Okemos Road to the east and west and by Methodist and Clinton streets to the north and south.
That investment is the first phase of a two-phase project to revitalize the Four Corners that his team first announced last year, he said.
Specs:
The team is focusing on the first phase of what will ultimately be an estimated $150 million investment, he said, by starting the process to design and construct about 250,000 to 300,000 square feet worth of retail and residential space.
Concept plans call for up to 200 luxury residential units that will be a mix of one- to three-bedroom flats and two-story townhouses. There will be underground parking for residents with some surface lots.
Yeah, reading the article, it seems like the developer was full off it, because not only are they going forward, but going forward without reducing the size of the project despite CADL not participating. To be clear, these are the reimbursement costs for clean-up, so this isn't up-front money. Though, the developer saying that his lender wouldn't give him money for clean-up, so I wonder what happened, and how he's going to go foward?
To be fair, cadl money was a small enough portion that it wouldn't effect the plan much either way. If the rest of the organizations declined to give up their share, it would be a different story, but everyone else is on board with it.
There's a great little modernist bank on the SE corner of this intersection. I hope they don't mess with that, even if it doesn't totally fit with the 'new urbanist' look of this rendering.
Grache, developers had pulled out before for lack of committment from all the parties. So it was not even close to clear the developer would not scale back or pull out entirely. It's why CADL's lack of participation has been noticed since the township amended the brownfield plan. Their absence could have conceivably stopped this. Sounds like the developer will have to go find another source for the missing $1 million for remediation.
Comments
I hope they do something nice for downtown Okemos. In the past few years it has gone from a funky little neighborhoody crossroads to a ghost town. There must have been something like 5-10 small, independent businesses that have left that area.
Looks like the opening phases of The Elevation at Jolly Oaks opened on the 19th.
The architecture on this one is pretty unique to the area.
Nothing announced just yet, but it looks like a third developer will now be trying to build something at the "four corners" in Okemos's downtown.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/2019/01/17/downtown-development-okemos-tif-blight-environmental-clean-up/2290770002/
The developer is Will Randle and he plans to invest $150 million in two phases. It seems that the DDA is really trying to help this plan succeed given the previous two dead-ends.
This is the same developer that proposed something for this area in May 2018 with Douglas J. The article here doens't mention Douglas J's involvement so it may be Randle going alone at it this time. The number has also jumped from $100 million to $150 million.
I don't know why the numbers keep getting inflated. I would be happy to see one $20 million development here first. Not everything needs to be a "grand slam" major development that rebuilds the whole downtown in one swing. I think often the really huge projects end up missing their mark and either never get built or are heavily tilted towards looking out of character.
Couldn't agree more on this last point
Since this is moving forward without CADL money, it looks like the CADL properly called the developers bluff on this and didn't need to put up their own money to fund this development.
From the article:
Specs:
Yeah, reading the article, it seems like the developer was full off it, because not only are they going forward, but going forward without reducing the size of the project despite CADL not participating. To be clear, these are the reimbursement costs for clean-up, so this isn't up-front money. Though, the developer saying that his lender wouldn't give him money for clean-up, so I wonder what happened, and how he's going to go foward?
There's a great little modernist bank on the SE corner of this intersection. I hope they don't mess with that, even if it doesn't totally fit with the 'new urbanist' look of this rendering.
Grache, developers had pulled out before for lack of committment from all the parties. So it was not even close to clear the developer would not scale back or pull out entirely. It's why CADL's lack of participation has been noticed since the township amended the brownfield plan. Their absence could have conceivably stopped this. Sounds like the developer will have to go find another source for the missing $1 million for remediation.