Interesting things up at next week's council meeting:
- Form Based Code to replace the existing, decade's old code. This has been in the works since 2012; now it gets a vote before the full council.
- Authorization of application for Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) grants for various park's projects including acquistion of land from the school district (67 acres) and another for the University Corporate Research Park (~28 acres), there is also a development grant for the research park. I'm not sure what either of these projects are for, exactly, except that the latter are for McClaren. There is also a development grant application for updates of the boardwalks, access, parking lots and other things for Riverfront Park, and a development grant for a walking trail Fenner Nature Center (I'm guessing and upgraded one).
- Introduction of an ordinance to transfer the Delta Grande Drain in northwest Lansing from the county to the city. Apparently, this was never formally done in the 1950's when this was required. Route of the drain (which is underground) is pictured below by the blue dotted line:
I believe the council has approved the new Form Based Code this week. It will be interesting to see how the code effects and improves the plans for new developments.
Looks like Gillespie is trying to redevelop the old sears location and surround parking lot. I bet it'll end up being something similar to what is across the street on Michigan Ave. I also hope that whatever they turn it into it will have plenty more green space in comparison to the concrete jungle that parcel is right now. Very excited to see what the future holds for this area of Frandor.
This is great news! I really do hope they start over from the ground up at this site. The Sears building had some nice Mid-Century -Modern features but it really is just a '50s version of a big box store surround by a sea of blacktop and most of the nice features have been covered with paint and ugly awnings. I guess they could use this structure for as a part of an entertainment/performance center or maybe a casino/hotel/conference center could incorporate the old buildings. I really like hearing that Pat G. is ready to get going on this property, it really say a lot about Lansing and a more hopeful and prosperous future just ahead! This will be a fun development to follow.
I think the high-rise concept they put out next to simply reusing the store is probably a bit too intense a usage for the area, but I suspect we're not going to see the full building renovated, and we will see a more intense use of the land.
I'm confused by this. Am I reading this correctly, that they are cutting trees all the way down Collins to Dunckel? It's confusing me, because I thought we were talking about a trail on Farm and the little loop at Collins?
They are definitely cutting them down along the red line. I drove down there yesterday and it is a lot more wide open. It feels like they may be widening the road but that's just a guess. It will definitely help when they put in the roundabout at Forest/Collins. It sucks seeing some of the large trees along Collins cut down, but I never realized how close they actually were to the road. Pretty dangerous with the speeds that people tend to drive down there.
Yeah, I noticed they had pretty much all the trees along the road cleared. I'm assuming this is for good reason and they're going to be making some significant changes to the roads there.
@cliffordzang I missed that they're putting in a roundabout there, is that official? I like the idea of that.
Regarding the Sears building, I really hope they don't attempt to reuse it in any way. It's horribly outdated with low ceilings too many pillars, nothing significant in its design and a single floor building is really an underuse of that land. IMO if Gillespie were smart he would work with the City along with Frandor's and Skyview's owners to properly develop Morgan Ln and Vine St with curb & gutter, a nice streetscape and sidewalks, then add some streets bisecting the property into 3-5 blocks. Then you have much more developable land, more potential storefronts, you can develop individual buildings, sell some lots and just generally maximize the use of the land while creating a much more interesting area. To me that approach is a no-brainer for a property that large in area like that with increasing density.
Comments
- Form Based Code to replace the existing, decade's old code. This has been in the works since 2012; now it gets a vote before the full council.
- Authorization of application for Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) grants for various park's projects including acquistion of land from the school district (67 acres) and another for the University Corporate Research Park (~28 acres), there is also a development grant for the research park. I'm not sure what either of these projects are for, exactly, except that the latter are for McClaren. There is also a development grant application for updates of the boardwalks, access, parking lots and other things for Riverfront Park, and a development grant for a walking trail Fenner Nature Center (I'm guessing and upgraded one).
- Introduction of an ordinance to transfer the Delta Grande Drain in northwest Lansing from the county to the city. Apparently, this was never formally done in the 1950's when this was required. Route of the drain (which is underground) is pictured below by the blue dotted line:
Looks like Gillespie is trying to redevelop the old sears location and surround parking lot. I bet it'll end up being something similar to what is across the street on Michigan Ave. I also hope that whatever they turn it into it will have plenty more green space in comparison to the concrete jungle that parcel is right now. Very excited to see what the future holds for this area of Frandor.
@cliffordzang I missed that they're putting in a roundabout there, is that official? I like the idea of that.