I don't like the idea, at all. It's not the right place for such a park. I hate to say it, but the neighborhood isn't sophisticated enough to appreciate and take care of something like this. The area is already a haven for the homeless. I'm pretty familiar with the area as I often shop at Sunset Market across the street. It'd be vandalized and trashed before you know it.
If they can't build on it (and I really don't buy the excuse he gave), they'd be better off turning it into a community garden, which would be one use that maybe the neighborhood would appreciate.
I think it's a great idea, but I'm also skeptical about the location. If this was put in place of the gas station to the east of the Stadium District and on the land south of that gas station or somewhere similar I think it would work. Maybe if they razed the buildings right next to the Knapp's Building and used that space along with the surface lot across Washtenaw for a sculpture park...there it would have the giant Cooley mural right above the park to top it off.
"City Garden" in St. Louis that just opened in July is a wild sucess, but it's right in the heart of the downtown area. It would be a good model along with Millenium Park in Chicago for something.
Yeah, I love the idea, but I don't see it being successful at 711 East K'zoo. It's be different if he were proposed to redevelop that entire block of East K'zoo and making this part of it, but as a stand-alone in this location, I just don't see it being successful or at least as successful as it could be. I've always been a huge proponent of the redevelopment of K'zoo between Larch and Hosmer (the hill).
But maybe this is the kind of off-the-wall project needed to jump-start the area. If this is designed well and everything is maintained it ought to be great for the area, they can begin to draw people making mixed use projects an easier sell.
Also, maybe a good sculpture for the site would be the old "This Equals That," if I remember right they estimated it would cost like $100k to restore it and clad it in copper. I think that would make a very good centerpiece.
I'm a little surprised that "This Equals That" wasn't ever taken out of storage. I did some research on this to job my memory, and it was essentially put away in Mason in 2002 (the year Granholm became governor), and has been left to the elements. It's at the MDOT Repair Center, there.
BTW, speaking of the site at 711 East Kalamazoo, I was surprised a few weeks ago to see giant sunflowers springing from the site, and now I know why. The only problem was that it look like they'd planted them amongst the rubble which I thought kind of defeated the purpose. It'd be good to know exactly what Schoen is looking at, price wise, to get this site up and running and how he's going to procure the money for the project. I went to the facebook page, and hopefully it's updated more often and the plan is shapped out more.
I'll have to go check out the first piece of art, soon. I haven't been by the site since last week.
Maybe, this will turn out to be something worthwhile. More power to him.
Hood, I agree that this could be a REALLY cool thing. But a huge part of it's success will depend on how well it is maintained and that I think is going to be questionable. Maybe Lansing Gateway would pick up again and then that area really could take off. Check the link below for the City Garden in St. Louis I referenced before. This is brand new and doing very well so far, drawing people at all hours and on the weekends...but a big part of that is the location. It's not that the location of Lansing's sculpture park will prevent it from doing well, I'm just saying a better location would more easily ensure it's success (not that it won't succeed where it is).
saw a blurb in the business section today saying that Michigan Brewing will be opening for lunch starting next week (11-2). They cant sell beer yet, but expect to get their license the first week in Sept.
It was surprising that Cooley did want to give out any specific information regarding the project. They were quoted as saying, "We are not discussing the library project at this time. We´ll be happy to contact the City Pulse when we are ready to do so." But if you pick up a copy of their alumni magazine from June, you will see a two-page spread about the expansion of the law library. After construction is finished, Cooley will have the second largest law library in the country.
Harvard claims to have the largest academic law library, while the Library of Congress claims to have the world's largest law library. I'm not too sure where Cooley fits in there at second place, or how they are measuring it: volumes of books vs. square feet (I think Cooley is going by square feet).
The final square footage of the Cooley downtown Law Library should be 100,000 sq ft, including the current building that houses the Law Library. The Town Center Building will be an expansion on to that, but will keep it's two story size.
I hope to scan some pictures of the article and upload them here tomorrow.
It's so funny to see Cooley being mum about this as if it's really that big of a deal. I'm not sure I get their hesitance about this. It's been known for months what they were doing.
Comments
If they can't build on it (and I really don't buy the excuse he gave), they'd be better off turning it into a community garden, which would be one use that maybe the neighborhood would appreciate.
"City Garden" in St. Louis that just opened in July is a wild sucess, but it's right in the heart of the downtown area. It would be a good model along with Millenium Park in Chicago for something.
Also, maybe a good sculpture for the site would be the old "This Equals That," if I remember right they estimated it would cost like $100k to restore it and clad it in copper. I think that would make a very good centerpiece.
BTW, speaking of the site at 711 East Kalamazoo, I was surprised a few weeks ago to see giant sunflowers springing from the site, and now I know why. The only problem was that it look like they'd planted them amongst the rubble which I thought kind of defeated the purpose. It'd be good to know exactly what Schoen is looking at, price wise, to get this site up and running and how he's going to procure the money for the project. I went to the facebook page, and hopefully it's updated more often and the plan is shapped out more.
I'll have to go check out the first piece of art, soon. I haven't been by the site since last week.
Maybe, this will turn out to be something worthwhile. More power to him.
http://theurbanophile.blogspot.com/2009/07/st-louis-city-garden-and-millennium.html
http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-3337-book-drop.html
It was surprising that Cooley did want to give out any specific information regarding the project. They were quoted as saying, "We are not discussing the library project at this time. We´ll be happy to contact the City Pulse when we are ready to do so." But if you pick up a copy of their alumni magazine from June, you will see a two-page spread about the expansion of the law library. After construction is finished, Cooley will have the second largest law library in the country.
Harvard claims to have the largest academic law library, while the Library of Congress claims to have the world's largest law library. I'm not too sure where Cooley fits in there at second place, or how they are measuring it: volumes of books vs. square feet (I think Cooley is going by square feet).
The final square footage of the Cooley downtown Law Library should be 100,000 sq ft, including the current building that houses the Law Library. The Town Center Building will be an expansion on to that, but will keep it's two story size.
I hope to scan some pictures of the article and upload them here tomorrow.
It's so funny to see Cooley being mum about this as if it's really that big of a deal. I'm not sure I get their hesitance about this. It's been known for months what they were doing.