I believe it will be the expansion towards Shiawasee but don't quote me on that. And judging by the color schemes of The Outfield, Midtown, and Marketplace I would wager that it will also have the same type of color scheme.
Gillespie Group recently had a meeting where the plans of the new building were revealed. Unfortunately I was not able to attend but I can confirm that it will be the expansion towards Shiawasee. This building will have more amenities for the residents including a large balcony on the top floor along with previous items I mentioned earlier. They apparently showed renderings of it so I would expect to hear something from Gillespie soon.
I believe it will just be on the top floor, not the roof but I could be wrong. I can't remember the exact number but it will be more than the first building by about 10 or so. I believe it will be 5 floors like the current one with the first floor submerged if viewed from Cedar St. I really wish I was at the meeting so I had more details. The current building is 100% rented so there is definitely demand for residential downtown. If only we could get a grocery store downtown so that we don't have to keep driving to Meijer or Kroger every time.
Noticed a lot of flags around Marketplace Apartments by the River Trail. Some outlining what looks like could be the outline for the expansion towards Shiawasee. We might be hearing something new on it pretty soon.
Walking around the Lugnuts stadium last game I was struck that, especially if you're in the NW corner of the ballpark, the new developments do make the environ feel a lot more urban.
I am glad to hear he is building out the whole project as planned. I give him points for adding color to the city, even if I don't like the colors. As we have all said before better quality materials would really make these buildings shine. Some street-scape improvements on Shiawassee street would help to extent the urban feel with the nice "Lansing" street lamps and a rebuilt street and sidewalks. Trees along Cedar would also encourage pedestrians to take the walk from the ball field to the brewery, and also provide shade for the people who may walk to their apartments in these developments. The speed limit on Cedar and Larch could also be reduced from Oakland to Kalamazoo to make a friendlier and safer place for people.
Those would be great improvements. High speed roads both reduce road biking and sidewalk walking.
Neither Larch nor Cedar need to be this wide, but the good thing is that these roads can be placed on a diet with the extra space used for dedicated bike lanes and parallel parking.
More trees, smaller / more personable street lamps, benches, and bike racks make a huge difference in telling people that their leisure time is wanted and they are welcome.
They both could be two way with a left turn lane like several former four lane streets. Although not a thru-street it works well on S. Washington Ave in REOtown. When the traffic is stopped it is two long lines instead of four short wide lines of traffic. It does not seem to impede traffic flow. These streets are part of Business I 96 and 127 I wonder is that why they increased the speed limit? I think that could be looked at again as it has become a much more populated area. It is crazy to mix pedestrians and traffic going 45 to 50 mph. I could really see the limit lowered at Old Grand River Ave, so many people crossing there these days.
I was going to say - why not make them two-lane roads? I feel like that sort of design so close to downtown is a leftover from the (OK, still quite prevalent) mentality that the only thing we need to consider when designing roads is how many cars we can push through every hour.
Comments
Neither Larch nor Cedar need to be this wide, but the good thing is that these roads can be placed on a diet with the extra space used for dedicated bike lanes and parallel parking.
More trees, smaller / more personable street lamps, benches, and bike racks make a huge difference in telling people that their leisure time is wanted and they are welcome.