Another letter from the mayor in next weeks council agenda introducing an OPRA on a small mixed use building, this time for the former Barron's Window Coverings at 323-327 S Washington Sq. A company called Wormwood is proposing ground floor retail with upstairs residential. It's a bit confusing in that they reference the addresses of (what I thought was) all three storefronts yet it states "two buildings" and "two commercial spaces" in the document. Devil's Day Tattoo shop, currently next door, is slated to move into the renovated space.
To add the @gbinlansing 's updates: Tower on Grand is comfortably above ground, City Hall is getting prepped for facade installation, there's no more equipment on site at Capitol Tower after the demo and site work there, no signs of life at Ovation, Fish Ladder Music Park is completed and open (!!!), both the little townhouse buildings on Pennsylvania near Kalamazoo have roofs and some of their siding on, the Hillsdale & MLK townhomes are progressing well with three buildings getting their exteriors buttoned up, and that's all I can think of at the moment. If I don't drag myself out today or tomorrow to get some pictures I will soon.
When I worked downtown, I always thought it was a little odd that there was a blinds store downtown. Would have been very sensible in another time, of course, felt odd circa 2015.
Baron's really was an odd duck there. I was surprised they didn't sell those buildings for renovation during the pre-2008 recession mini boom that Lansing enjoyed, and am surprised at how those storefronts sit today.
Just a little sign as to how things on Washington haven't gone well the past 10-15 years despite the generally positive direction of downtown as whole. It's just starting to truly dawn on my how different this stretch may look in 5 years with all the apartments, Ovation, the City Hall hotel and now these few last storefront renovations.
Just one thing I noticed that may or may not be nothing; I didn't see any prominent "For Sale/Lease" signs on the Masonic Temple building while driving by and it's no longer listed on CPIX. It may have just sold to someone without immediate plans, it may be between listing agents, the current owners could be doing some work before remarketing, or maybe someone is going to lease it as mundane office space... But maybe, just maybe, there's something happening.
My worry with this area is what happens when Cooley ends up shuttering and those massive buildings sit empty. Things haven't been great for them, and the reduction is already evident. With those big vacancies along with the enlarged homeless shelter not too far away, I'm not so optimistic that the area will change that much for the better...
Just my thoughts...hard to predict the future. I'd like to be wrong on this. With some recent travels, I keep telling myself more housing will get us what we want, but so much of this housing is low income focused lately. Again, I hope I'm just being pessimistic and that I'm wrong.
It is understandable that one would be a little pessimistic about downtown and the future, it looked pretty deserted on the south end the other day when I was down there. It would help if the State would return their workers downtown, and with all the new housing I think the whole area will do better with residents of the new buildings providing year-round customers. Our place in Mass. was in a mixed development, but "low income" is not that low these days and the folks who had subsidized homes were employed and supported the local economy perhaps more than the market rate homes which were often owned as a second home. I other words low income doesn't always mean shopping cart ladies, can collectors, or adult men taking over public spaces. Those folks are everywhere these days which has a lot to do with homelessness and metal health issues and will require cities to address those issues in order to change those situations. I was in a sandwich shop downtown and there were a lot of construction workers getting lunch and the place was full. That to me says if there are people downtown, they will spend money there. I hope the businesses can hold on until the new residents get there.
It was very exciting to read about a new data center a British company wants to build downtown at Kalamazoo and Cedar on the surface lots there. It seems it will to be a unique facility that will use the excess heat the data center produces to heat water for BWL's hot water customers. That sounds very cool to me!
Long, long ago I wrote that bitcoin mining centers would gradually move to cold climates, where the "waste heat" wasn't actually waste. This may not be bitcoin mining but, same idea, which is neat.
I'm not against data centers as some are, but they have to be in an appropriate location, they're essentially an industrial facility. A property on the main gateway into downtown with major street frontage on three (!!!) sides is NOT the place for such a facility. This a place with a fence or walls on all sides, it has large and loud HVAC equipment that will inevitably be up against the sidewalk/street. This is aesthetically the same as putting a warehouse or a pole barn on that property. It would stand in the way of Kalamazoo as a potential future urban corridor connected to Downtown and the Stadium District. If it really must be downtown for the waste heat factor work with Eyde to get it on the 7 block property or get the state to give up some parking lot. It's problematic in my view that the administration is allowing things like this to even progress to this stage, what the hell did we pass form based zoning for???
Also in the Planning board meeting:
A developer proposes tearing down the house at 3310 W Mt Hope to build a 29 unit apartment building. No rendering but the site plan indicates that the building will be oriented perpendicular to the street with parking along its side and a small yard in the front. Sounds like a good plan to me.
RE: process. Just wanted to clarify the City has to allow any owner/representative the opportunity to apply for a rezoning or special land use, regardless of what the City may feel about any particular request, or how far fetched it may be. That's state law. Nothing to do with the zoning ordinance we have. Planning Commission will be assessing the merits of allowing that land use at this location. There will still be an Act 33 case about the sale of real property. That however is at the discretion of the City so I definitely understand debating the merits of any given project in that regard.
Comments
There's also a potential new $40m juvenile justice center slated for county land on Holmes just west of MLK.
https://www.lansingcitypulse.com/stories/new-juvenile-justice-center-could-be-built-in-south-lansing,161258
To add the @gbinlansing 's updates: Tower on Grand is comfortably above ground, City Hall is getting prepped for facade installation, there's no more equipment on site at Capitol Tower after the demo and site work there, no signs of life at Ovation, Fish Ladder Music Park is completed and open (!!!), both the little townhouse buildings on Pennsylvania near Kalamazoo have roofs and some of their siding on, the Hillsdale & MLK townhomes are progressing well with three buildings getting their exteriors buttoned up, and that's all I can think of at the moment. If I don't drag myself out today or tomorrow to get some pictures I will soon.
Just a little sign as to how things on Washington haven't gone well the past 10-15 years despite the generally positive direction of downtown as whole. It's just starting to truly dawn on my how different this stretch may look in 5 years with all the apartments, Ovation, the City Hall hotel and now these few last storefront renovations.
Just one thing I noticed that may or may not be nothing; I didn't see any prominent "For Sale/Lease" signs on the Masonic Temple building while driving by and it's no longer listed on CPIX. It may have just sold to someone without immediate plans, it may be between listing agents, the current owners could be doing some work before remarketing, or maybe someone is going to lease it as mundane office space... But maybe, just maybe, there's something happening.
Just my thoughts...hard to predict the future. I'd like to be wrong on this. With some recent travels, I keep telling myself more housing will get us what we want, but so much of this housing is low income focused lately. Again, I hope I'm just being pessimistic and that I'm wrong.
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/money/business/2025/11/05/lansing-data-center-deep-green-bwl/87051236007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=true&gca-epti=z119956p119850c119850d00----v119956b00xxxxd11xx65&gca-ft=228&gca-ds=sophi
I'm not against data centers as some are, but they have to be in an appropriate location, they're essentially an industrial facility. A property on the main gateway into downtown with major street frontage on three (!!!) sides is NOT the place for such a facility. This a place with a fence or walls on all sides, it has large and loud HVAC equipment that will inevitably be up against the sidewalk/street. This is aesthetically the same as putting a warehouse or a pole barn on that property. It would stand in the way of Kalamazoo as a potential future urban corridor connected to Downtown and the Stadium District. If it really must be downtown for the waste heat factor work with Eyde to get it on the 7 block property or get the state to give up some parking lot. It's problematic in my view that the administration is allowing things like this to even progress to this stage, what the hell did we pass form based zoning for???
Also in the Planning board meeting:
A developer proposes tearing down the house at 3310 W Mt Hope to build a 29 unit apartment building. No rendering but the site plan indicates that the building will be oriented perpendicular to the street with parking along its side and a small yard in the front. Sounds like a good plan to me.