I'm crossing my fingers. I really think this has the potential to be a great project, and I'm not sure why people would be so apprehensive about it. I think that just because a building is old doesn't mean that it accomplishes it's goal.
Unanimously huh?...alright, I can be man enough to admit I was naively suckered into the histeria and as a result added to it. Touché LMich, I was wrong to think this was as dire as I thought.
(but I have to admit I had some fun in this debate along the way)
Councilwoman Wood had what I thought to be a very fair and useful resolution that would have required council oversight of the project going forward, but unfortunately that was voted down. I was surprised that even after that she still voted for it. I was also surprised by 1st Ward Councilman Hewitt, though he seemed to argue both for and against the thing at the same time. He's such an enigma, and it's maddening because he's my council person.
A few additional observations:
- I love 2nd Ward Councilwoman Sandy Allen to death, but she always appears so out of her league at these things.
- I've never seen a developer sit through every public hearing for his project the entire length of the meeting. Gillespie deserves major kudos for listening, or at least appearing to listen.
- Councilwoman Robinson has really grown in her role on the council. Very impressive.
interesting opinion piece in the LSJ the other day on the market business plan... it'll be interesting to see how that whole thing plays out since it seemed like it was going to be a major sticking point and then at the end of the day it turned out to be very moot. I think any business plan that is good for the city market finds ways to use ancillary attractions to make the market reach a more broad spectrum of users... so not just for the sole purpose of people buying food, but rather attending events, concerts, 5k start/finish points, etc. One thing that will definitely drive the success of the new market is the retail mix of the development. I'm not sure how retail users will feel about that area since it is pretty tough with access from Larch (having to cross shiawassee to get there from the highway)... I can see a lot of restaurant/bar types of places feeding off of convention and ball park users but what we really need are the retailers that people will go to on a saturday morning... clothing, home furnishing, etc. Hopefully the volume of residents with capitol club tower, ottawa butler, and this development will help a little bit higher quality retail locate downtown successfully.
Saw it on the news, tonight. I know it's not totally designed, yet, but this is rather bland. It looks like a cheap poll barn.
What I do like is the siteplan. Particularly how they designed away the excess parking. It's also interesting to note that they have designed the property to take the River Trail directly along the river.
Comments
(but I have to admit I had some fun in this debate along the way)
A few additional observations:
- I love 2nd Ward Councilwoman Sandy Allen to death, but she always appears so out of her league at these things.
- I've never seen a developer sit through every public hearing for his project the entire length of the meeting. Gillespie deserves major kudos for listening, or at least appearing to listen.
- Councilwoman Robinson has really grown in her role on the council. Very impressive.
from the mylansingcitymarket.com website
What I do like is the siteplan. Particularly how they designed away the excess parking. It's also interesting to note that they have designed the property to take the River Trail directly along the river.