In next weeks council meeting the approval for the RiverNorth brownfield will be considered, this shuld be where we learn more, as long as the council members ask questions regarding the project as they usually do.
I emailed the punlic relations person for the Boji's (John Truscott Group) about the Capitol View project and the "big project." Here is his reply:
"The only thing definitive right now is the rehab of the Hollister building. They will be refacing the exterior and converting several floors to lofts. Several new retail tenants will be moving in.
Anything else is just discussion at this point and will be announced if anything comes to fruition. But that's a big "if"
Sent another email to John Truscott asking if there were any details such as renderings and floorplans for the Hollister building rennovation and if there were any plans for the 5/3 building. He said that they would be releasing more info on Hollister "shortly" and that there are no plans to do anything with 5/3 "in the near future."
The former Frandor Printing site at 543 Clippert St. has been sold. Vlahakis Commercial brokered the sale. The building is on about one-third of an acre. Vlahakis said the site will be redeveloped
I wonder what is planned there, I can't picture exactly where this is, but I wonder what kind of redvelopment there will be. It will prabably be just another small strip center, but who knows, maybe we will be suprised. BTW, this is north clippert, so it doesen't have anything to do with those apartments.
The LSJ is also reporting that the Majority restaurant may close and move to the Hollister Building. The article seemed to portray three different possibilities to me, either they were thinking of closing outright, moving to the Hollister building, or just adding a new location in the Hollister Building.
I think that if they do move to the Hollister Building, it can really help Washington Sq. Does anybody know if their business is slow? or any other reason they may outright close?
Dusty's English Inn can do it, out in the middle of no where. Majority could have made it with all the people in the vicinity. Its sad to see it go, I ranked it as our top area restaurant for 'the whole package', however it was never busy. I think one of the things that killed them was opening while the Capital Loop project was still underway, you couldn't get to them. Also, during that initial period, while the street was tore up, they couldn't quite get into a groove. I went and the they were out of all of their beef entrees, not one, not two, but three of them. Major points off. The new restaurant buzz was totally squandered, or missed, 'Lansing's Sexiest Restaurant' works for a nightclub, not so much for a fine place to eat. Knight Cap, in my opinion, is tops for food and service, but decor is way outdated. Tavern on the Square has done a great job on decor, but I think the menu could use some help. The food that is on that menu is great, but they have donuts on the dessert menu!! One block over could have helped, but it would not have really made a difference.
Its really too bad, I have never been impressed with the Red Cedar Grill, but I was very impressed with Majority. Oh well, that's one less independent restaurant for Lansing people to ignore....... hey everyone Applebee's has norovirus on special, eatin good in the neighborhood.......no.....Taco Bell has extra lettuce and scallions with that!!!!
It sounds to me that a resturaunt will be moving into Hollister, unrelated to Majority, and they are considering moving Majority there in additon to the other resturaunt. Their other option seems to be is to close and forget about Majority all together. I would definately consider the LSJ story more reliable, simply because they spoke directly to one of the Boji's.
"Majority's equipment could be moved into a redeveloped Hollister Building, at Washington Square and Allegan Street, where a new restaurant is likely to open next year."
That implies to me that another resturaunt is going to open in the Hollister Building, and it coul possibly use Majority's old equipment.
"We've thought about putting an additional concept there (in Hollister), putting Majority down there and staying where we are."
"Additional concept" would seem to mean a new, different resturaunt, with the other options being moving Majority "as is" to Hollister, and keeping it in Capitol View.
Really, all these statements contradict eachother and none are very clear. The CIty Pulse and LSJ stories are polar opposites almost, and the LSJ story seems confusing in itself. I guess the Boji's intend to remain tight-lipped on everything they do.
Thats one think thats for sure, in my emails to John Truscott he hints that there are several tenants lined up. I can't wait to see what the building will look like.
Written by LALEAH FERNANDEZ
Wednesday, 13 December 2006
Group hopes to unveil memorial next September
In 1995, Lansing voters rejected renaming Grand Avenue after migrant rights leader Caesar Chavez.
Eleven years later, Chavez will get his due — this time in the form of a memorial statue in front of City Hall.
The Lansing City Council unanimously approved the plan last month, and the representatives from the Capital Area Cesar E. Chavez Commission said it’s just a matter of time until the statue is erected.
“Cesar Chavez walked from Michigan State University to the Capitol, so this is a good place for it to stand,” said Al Salas, a member of the commission who is leading the effort to memorialize Chavez.
The three-sided copper monument will stand 7-feet-6-inches tall and will weigh 2,500 pounds. One side will face the Capitol, the second facing City Hall and the third side facing the Romney Building.
The structure will feature a three-dimensional image of Chavez and biographical information about his life and accomplishments as co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, later known as the United Farm Workers of America.
The commission hopes to unveil the statue by Sept. 16, 2007, which is the 197th anniversary of the “Grito de Dolores,” the call of Mexican independence from Spain.
The estimated cost is upwards of $41,500. The commission has raised $10,000 so far, Salas said. He said the commission is “very comfortable” that it can raise the remaining funds from private donations.
“We shouldn’t have any problem with the funds at all.” Salas said.
A spokesman from Mayor Virg Bernero’s office said there are still some engineering issues to be ironed out, such as the weight of the statue, which would be situated over an underground parking garage.
“It’s a great idea, but there’s some small details that need to be worked out,” said Randy Hannan, Bernero’s deputy chief of staff.
Hannan said the community should also consider the permanence of the memorial’s location, as city officials have made it no secret that they’d like to move City Hall to a more modern location.
“Should we put a memorial in a place that may be a short-term situation? That’s not necessarily a deal breaker, just something to consider,” Hannan said.
Furthermore, the Council may have to revisit the subject, as it failed to hold a public hearing prior to approving the plan. Lansing ordinance No. 1034.09 requires the Council to hold a public hearing prior to approving any memorial on public property.
In 1995, two years after Chavez’s death at the age of 66, the city renamed Grand Avenue in Chavez’s honor, only to have a petition drive put the issue before Lansing voters, who opted to overturn that action the next year.
In response to the public backlash to Chavez Avenue, then-Mayor David Hollister helped create the Chavez commission. The group consists of about a dozen local business and community leaders.
Local labor leader Art Luna, who sits on the Chavez commission, said he doesn’t foresee public opposition to the statue like there was with the avenue in more than a decade ago.
“I think that opposition was based in money to change street addresses and business cards,” Luna said. “I think people will be more supportive of the memorial, and we expect the mayor to approve it.”
John W. Mehling Jr. was a driving force behind the 1995 campaign to overturn the street renaming. He said he knocked on hundreds of doors with a petition to reverse the name back to Grand Avenue.
However, Mehling said last week that he supports the statue.
“It’s about time,” Mehling said. “He was a great man and should be recognized.”
“I was actually hoping to get the Lansing City Market named after him because he was a small farmer, and without him a lot of these migrant workers wouldn’t
have gotten any money at all,” Mehling said.
He said his opposition to changing the street name was because city officials didn’t get enough public input before doing it.
“I just didn’t like the way they went about changing the street — they changed it real quick,” he said. “But I’m supportive of him getting him some honor.”
(Thomas P. Morgan contributed to this article.)
Comments
I emailed the punlic relations person for the Boji's (John Truscott Group) about the Capitol View project and the "big project." Here is his reply:
Vlahakis brokers Clippert deal
The former Frandor Printing site at 543 Clippert St. has been sold. Vlahakis Commercial brokered the sale. The building is on about one-third of an acre. Vlahakis said the site will be redeveloped
I wonder what is planned there, I can't picture exactly where this is, but I wonder what kind of redvelopment there will be. It will prabably be just another small strip center, but who knows, maybe we will be suprised. BTW, this is north clippert, so it doesen't have anything to do with those apartments.
I think that if they do move to the Hollister Building, it can really help Washington Sq. Does anybody know if their business is slow? or any other reason they may outright close?
Its really too bad, I have never been impressed with the Red Cedar Grill, but I was very impressed with Majority. Oh well, that's one less independent restaurant for Lansing people to ignore....... hey everyone Applebee's has norovirus on special, eatin good in the neighborhood.......no.....Taco Bell has extra lettuce and scallions with that!!!!
That implies to me that another resturaunt is going to open in the Hollister Building, and it coul possibly use Majority's old equipment.
"We've thought about putting an additional concept there (in Hollister), putting Majority down there and staying where we are."
"Additional concept" would seem to mean a new, different resturaunt, with the other options being moving Majority "as is" to Hollister, and keeping it in Capitol View.
Really, all these statements contradict eachother and none are very clear. The CIty Pulse and LSJ stories are polar opposites almost, and the LSJ story seems confusing in itself. I guess the Boji's intend to remain tight-lipped on everything they do.
Commission plans to build downtown Chavez statue
Written by LALEAH FERNANDEZ
Wednesday, 13 December 2006
Group hopes to unveil memorial next September
In 1995, Lansing voters rejected renaming Grand Avenue after migrant rights leader Caesar Chavez.
Eleven years later, Chavez will get his due — this time in the form of a memorial statue in front of City Hall.
The Lansing City Council unanimously approved the plan last month, and the representatives from the Capital Area Cesar E. Chavez Commission said it’s just a matter of time until the statue is erected.
“Cesar Chavez walked from Michigan State University to the Capitol, so this is a good place for it to stand,” said Al Salas, a member of the commission who is leading the effort to memorialize Chavez.
The three-sided copper monument will stand 7-feet-6-inches tall and will weigh 2,500 pounds. One side will face the Capitol, the second facing City Hall and the third side facing the Romney Building.
The structure will feature a three-dimensional image of Chavez and biographical information about his life and accomplishments as co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association, later known as the United Farm Workers of America.
The commission hopes to unveil the statue by Sept. 16, 2007, which is the 197th anniversary of the “Grito de Dolores,” the call of Mexican independence from Spain.
The estimated cost is upwards of $41,500. The commission has raised $10,000 so far, Salas said. He said the commission is “very comfortable” that it can raise the remaining funds from private donations.
“We shouldn’t have any problem with the funds at all.” Salas said.
A spokesman from Mayor Virg Bernero’s office said there are still some engineering issues to be ironed out, such as the weight of the statue, which would be situated over an underground parking garage.
“It’s a great idea, but there’s some small details that need to be worked out,” said Randy Hannan, Bernero’s deputy chief of staff.
Hannan said the community should also consider the permanence of the memorial’s location, as city officials have made it no secret that they’d like to move City Hall to a more modern location.
“Should we put a memorial in a place that may be a short-term situation? That’s not necessarily a deal breaker, just something to consider,” Hannan said.
Furthermore, the Council may have to revisit the subject, as it failed to hold a public hearing prior to approving the plan. Lansing ordinance No. 1034.09 requires the Council to hold a public hearing prior to approving any memorial on public property.
In 1995, two years after Chavez’s death at the age of 66, the city renamed Grand Avenue in Chavez’s honor, only to have a petition drive put the issue before Lansing voters, who opted to overturn that action the next year.
In response to the public backlash to Chavez Avenue, then-Mayor David Hollister helped create the Chavez commission. The group consists of about a dozen local business and community leaders.
Local labor leader Art Luna, who sits on the Chavez commission, said he doesn’t foresee public opposition to the statue like there was with the avenue in more than a decade ago.
“I think that opposition was based in money to change street addresses and business cards,” Luna said. “I think people will be more supportive of the memorial, and we expect the mayor to approve it.”
John W. Mehling Jr. was a driving force behind the 1995 campaign to overturn the street renaming. He said he knocked on hundreds of doors with a petition to reverse the name back to Grand Avenue.
However, Mehling said last week that he supports the statue.
“It’s about time,” Mehling said. “He was a great man and should be recognized.”
“I was actually hoping to get the Lansing City Market named after him because he was a small farmer, and without him a lot of these migrant workers wouldn’t
have gotten any money at all,” Mehling said.
He said his opposition to changing the street name was because city officials didn’t get enough public input before doing it.
“I just didn’t like the way they went about changing the street — they changed it real quick,” he said. “But I’m supportive of him getting him some honor.”
(Thomas P. Morgan contributed to this article.)