General Lansing Development

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  • edited May 2019

    The story is online, now. Yes, the "flexible space" is exactly as amorphous as it sounds. They give example of one of these venues sprouting up all around the country. The one they feature a photo of is one in San Francisco:

    Flexibility key to performing arts center

    Walter reported on the findings of a survey of potential users that drew 86 responses from 77 organizations, from individual artists to regional promoters to major players like the Capital City Film Fest and the Lansing Symphony.

    Based on those findings, she said a successful facility would require “a very broad and nontraditional notion of content,” along the lines of the flexible, technologically advanced box venues going up around the country, and would have to reach out to a regional market.

    “Getting it right will be hard and you’ll have to be quite inventive,” she said. “A traditional 2,000-seat shoebox concert hall or proscenium stage is not going to work.”

    Among the facility’s prospective users are a score of smaller local arts organizations with small budgets, national promoters who cut tough deals to bring touring acts to the area, and the Lansing Symphony Orchestra, which operates on a razor-thin margin. That means a money-making facility is not in the cards.

    A reliable source of revenue will be essential, Walter told the group, which met at the Lansing Center, whether it comes from a dedicated percentage of a hotel or convention tax, a millage, parking fees or some combination.

    They are saying that the LSO doesn't pull in enough money to warrant a non-flexible space, even though they'd be the anchor tenant. They do mention later in the article including a smaller attached space, which I think is a no-brainer. So, why not build a traditional fixed space for the likes for the LSO and other concert/play users, with an attached box for the smaller organizations that need a smaller, flexible space?

  • We had a "flexible space" at the Civic Center, they could fit a whole three-ring circus in the Civic Center elephants and all. Looking back on it I think we should have kept the Civic Center even if we did build the Lansing Center. I know it was a difficult time in our history and planners could not imagine a time when Lansing could fill two civic halls again. Like now!
    We also had a 1,500 seat auditorium in the Michigan Theater, it might be a good idea to build a theater/PAC there again. At a theater there we could have theatrical performances, the symphony, cinema festivals perhaps even first-run movies filling the seats when the theater is not used for other events.
    There are also very nice theatric auditoriums in Sexton High School and Dwight Rich[at least there was when I went there:}]. Even though it is not downtown I could see Sexton's Auditorium being developed as a performance center. There is space that right behind the building for a lobby and a parking structure.
    I hope this does not turn into a lot of talk about something that is just not going to happen. We have found the civic will to fund a new football stadium for the new Eastern High School maybe that is a good sign that people would support building a new PAC. I really think that Lansing could easily support a 1,500 seat "flexible" PAC.

  • Something like in that picture wouldn't be bad for this area and I'm sure it would see plenty of use. I would not call it a performing arts center and it wouldn't serve the purpose of one. I could easily see the Lansing area supporting one of these flexible venues along with a 1000+ seat traditional auditorium to supplement Wharton.
  • Not online yet, but this week's City Pulse has a story updating the plans for the Genesee School in the Genesee neighborhood downtown. The plans to turn it into a community center - originally proposed back in 2015 - failed, and the building was sold in March to the couple who used to own 621 on Michigan Avenue downtown.

    Plans aren't yet solid, but they plan "no more than 36" apartments. They are struggling to figure out what to do with the gym portion and mention they may either repurpose it as some kind of community space, or tear it down. I'm not 100% sure, but the gym may have been a later addition.

    I'm familiar with the building, as I knew someone there as a kid who ran some community programs there. I doubt a community usage is practical for the gym short of it being a gym for the neighborhood children. What I do know is that there is more than enough land for them to build a smaller community center on the existing site.

  • It will be great to see that olf school finally get some love. With a little cleaning and the right windows it could be a really nice looking building. Looking at the gym I doubt it's original and I wouldn't be sad to see it go if they can't find a use for it.
  • edited May 2019

    Yeah, they plan no alterations to the outside of it. It was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, which I think would limit such things.

    BTW, looks like sub-county 2018 estimates are out from the Census Bureau, and Lansing (+0.46%) grew what looks like more than twice the rate of Ann Arbor (+0.22%) over that period and really not that much off Grand Rapids (+0.57%):

    https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/05/23/grand-rapids-area-leads-michigans-population-growth/3769040002/

    It was looking like after 2010 that Ann Arbor would really pull away, but we're actually keeping up with them. Lansing's population estimate for July 2018 is 118,427 and Ann Arbor's is 121,890. Lansing should finally have gained back all of the population it lost between the 2000 and 2010 by next year. Grand Rapids is estimated to have finally broken the 200,000 mark posting a population of 200,217. The other good news is that Detroit saw it's small annual loss in decades. The only weird thing is a weird (and significant) downward revision to East Lansing; they always have a hard time in between Census' estimating the place. It's probably because it's a full-blown college town.

  • https://eastlansinginfo.org/content/el-food-co-op-open-storefront-farm-market-near-127

    Looks like the old food co-op in EL is reopening in the small slice of Lansing Township just east of the 127 overpass. I never set foot in the old location and am unsure if I will when it re-opens but I think it has potential being where it is. With the new development slated right next to it and the closeness to the East Side it could have a wider following then before.

  • Never been to the old one, either, but I'm at Frandor all the time so this would be way more convenient for me. Still, I'm not sure if they'll get me since if I want a good health food store I go to Better Health just to the north.

    This also appears to be a smaller site than their former store (maybe?). The choice of building confuses me, too.

  • edited May 2019

    Well that was quick. The Planning Board agenda next week includes the rezoning of the old Genesee elementary school building I mentioned above. For some odd reason, the property is currently zoned for duplex usage, and the developer is seeking rezoning to a multi-family usage to allow for 36 efficiency apartments. Furthermore, they are requesting a special land use permit for the potential reuse of the connected 4,000 sq ft gymnasium for community usage. The rezoning would permit up to 43 efficiency units, so this is actually less density than that district would allow. The planning office has recommended the board approves the rezoning.

    The other item up for next week is the rezoning of the old Cooley-Haze House (Michigan Women's Historical Center) surrounded by the Cooley Gardens on Malcolm X that was recently purchased and is planned to be used as a demonstration area and for the resell of salvaged historic building materials. The owner is requesting rezoning from duplex usage to the F Commercial commercial usage, which would allow for both commercial and residential reuse. The planning office is also recommending this one for approval.

    Michigan Women's Historical Center & Hall of Fame

    Finally, looking at the minutes from this month's planning board, it appears that the land annexed into the city last November has been zoned A-Residential (for the single family home parcel on Jolly) and E-2 Local Shopping for the properities along Waverly. The debate was whether to allow for F-Commercial on the Waverly properties, which would allow more and different kinds of retail and commercial options than the Local Shopping zoning designation. Seems like the board ruled out F-Commercial, because among all of the other things it allows, it allows dispensaries.

  • LSJ has an article this morning concerning the Holmes Street School I posted about back on May 17. It details the failed redevelopment and the rough future plans for it:

    Verlinde Construction, Jo-Buck Electric and Capital Steel and Builders Supply bought the property at a sheriff's sale in 2018, according to online property records.

    Deehan, of Lansing, bought the building from those companies. Deehan is the CEO of his own development company and one of three principals of Urban Systems, a group working to redevelop the area between downtown Lansing and REO Town into housing, office and retail space.

    Deehan said the renovated space will "almost certainly" have a housing component but that he's still unsure of what exactly the building will hold.

    "It’s a pretty central part of that neighborhood, so we’re trying to talk with the community and see how to pick up the pieces there and make this project as good as we can," he said.

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