The Michigan Association of Realtors (MAR) Headquarters on Durant Park is coming along nicely. They've started putting up some of the facade. Across the street, it looks like the renovation of LCC's Gannon Ramp is prepping for work; they've already fenced it off.
I also really like the new MRA building, the design is contemporary with features like the two-story window bump-out, that fit into the design rather than looking like something added for a cheap little flair, like pine poles or false roof structures.
In addition to the LCC ramp, the city has been renovating the city-owned parking ramps around downtown for a while now, even the awful N. Grand Ave ramp looks a little brighter with freshly painted areas, they did leave the grey rope printed cement panels untouched. I guess so we never forget the original Brutalist cement walls from the pedestrian mall of the 1970s. Plant some ivy on those things! The other ramps do look better.
I like the lighting downtown idea and I sent a small donation. It is a start in the right direction for getting people downtown at night.
Council agenda next weeks shows a new liquor license has been issued for 212 S Washington. Haven't been down on the square in some time, so does anyone know if Tacos Monterrey is still at this spot?
The taco place closed some time ago. It is good to see someone has enough faith in downtown to open a new restaurant/bar. Up the street, the games and puzzle shop is expanding into the next storefront where a bakery was briefly located. Seems like games and puzzles are in big demand during these stay-at-home times. Also downtown I have liked seeing the displays set up by some of the small businesses around town in the windows of Knapp's and other vacant storefronts, but it kind of makes me wish there were shops behind the window displays. A couple more unique destination type shops like Kositcheks The Peanut Shop and Summit Comics would make downtown a real retail district.
Saw the MAR Headquarters again in the daylight, today. Interesting pattern on the facade, but definitely not stone. I thought I remember the council agenda packet showing that it be stone. I'll have to look again.
Yes, I saw that, they looked kind of like some "Gillespie panels" from the corner of Grand and Saginaw. The panels are sandstone colored so they could be thin stone facade panels. It's not "bad" looking, seems like these colored plank panels are the "look" of today's downtown Lansing.
The LSJ.com site has an interesting article about an MIT! study and paper they published about the survival of downtown districts during and after the pandemic. Lansing was one of the cities they picked to study. Most of the points we have talked about on this page but it is interesting to read. More housing, less parking, events that encourage people to come downtown, ideas like that are discussed.
I always get paywalled at LSJ, but I think I found the study PDF you were talking about, linked below. I haven't read it yet but wanted to share it in this thread just in case others hit the paywall as well.
Not much on tomorrow's planning board agenda, but a small project I found interest in. It's an upzoning of two unassuming duplex buildings in southwest Lansing on the 3500 west block of Jolly Road. The owner wants to develop more units on these two lots, though no figures are given. The staff report states that with the new zoning, you could get 9 units if all new units were two-bedroom apartments on a site where there are currently 4 units. The duplexes are next door to a small apartment building of eight units, so this kind of density would be in line with the surrounding development.
The only other item is the resquest by a charity to reuse the old St. Casmir Church & School for shelter for homeless teenagers and community outreach center which would provide counseling, employment and educational resources. The classrooms, gym and cafeteria would be left available for use by the neighborhood. Given the neightborhood, particularly on the Sparrow Avenue side, I do not expect the proposal to be accepted without opposition, even though Child & Family Services is a reputable operation as the staff report states. Anyway, it looks like this one wasn't submitted with all the information used to consider the item for approval, so this will probably be back before the planning board next month.
Comments
In addition to the LCC ramp, the city has been renovating the city-owned parking ramps around downtown for a while now, even the awful N. Grand Ave ramp looks a little brighter with freshly painted areas, they did leave the grey rope printed cement panels untouched. I guess so we never forget the original Brutalist cement walls from the pedestrian mall of the 1970s. Plant some ivy on those things! The other ramps do look better.
I like the lighting downtown idea and I sent a small donation. It is a start in the right direction for getting people downtown at night.
https://dusp.mit.edu/sites/dusp.mit.edu/files/user/attachments/Rebuilding Main Street after COVID-19 Final_1.pdf
The only other item is the resquest by a charity to reuse the old St. Casmir Church & School for shelter for homeless teenagers and community outreach center which would provide counseling, employment and educational resources. The classrooms, gym and cafeteria would be left available for use by the neighborhood. Given the neightborhood, particularly on the Sparrow Avenue side, I do not expect the proposal to be accepted without opposition, even though Child & Family Services is a reputable operation as the staff report states. Anyway, it looks like this one wasn't submitted with all the information used to consider the item for approval, so this will probably be back before the planning board next month.