How ever great it is to see muti-million dollar developments being built in Greater Lansing, this depiction of the building is really bad. So many false roof lines so many unattractive angles, and you can not tell what materials are used. For $67 million I think they could do better. This looks like a Red Roof Inn motel to me.
I think the $67 million here is related to how large the project is. The picture shown is only a small component of the advertised project, which would redevelop a very large plot of land at this corner.
I would prefer that this development not happen though, as it pulls the sprawl out even further and isn't along a heavy frequency CATA route.
(From page 135) Hannah East is essentially an expansion of the Lodges at Hannah, it will have 290 units with 621 beds. (Renderings on pages 157-158) With this development, the Hannah/Eyde Blvd area would be almost completely filled in, and with fairly dense development.
Also, under "Site Plans Approved" in the table of contents it lists a "64,000 square foot, 97 room Marriott Courtyard hotel at the corner of Jolly Oak
Road and Meridian Crossings Drive." I can't find any mention of it in the body of the meeting packet though.
Hadn't heard about this one. Apparently, a developer wants to build about 383 units of housing on the Walnut Hills Golf Course. As you'd expect, particularly for land this far out, the neighbors are largely opposed, citing specifically that the developers want a zoning change which would allow for more density, though as you can see from the overhead, part of the club was already zoned for the density the owner is requesting.
The club has been troubled and why they still occupy the site, they don't have the deed to the land. Some former club members were given "right of first refusal" on the property, and they weren't able to come up with the money to purchase the old golf course, though they continue to look into doing so, especially now with this planned.
All in all, the whole situation sounds like a mess.
I can see this being a difficult decision. I'm sure the neighborhood and the township would like to see this site continue as a well maintained country club, but if it's not economically viable as a golf course then a new use has to be found for the property or else it will just be an overgrown mess doing no one any good. It looks like this plan leaves a fair amount of open space and the housing looks to fit in well with what already exists in this area.
This is also a good opportunity to once again laugh at the hypocrisy of some Meridian Township residents (or NIMBYs in general). It's another case where people in a newly built subdivision get all up-in-arms over someone wanting to build a very similar subdivision on adjacent property. Do they realize or care that the construction of their neighborhood was very likely met with the same resistance? Sometimes I wish I could talk to one of these people, talk them through how illogical their position is.
Yes, I think it is good to be concerned about what is being built, but it is misguided to fear change as with the BRT. They should get the township to buy the course and make it a park and pay for it with their property taxes if they feel a new neighborhood would effect their's negatively.
MERIDIAN TWP. – A company that built two massive housing complexes on Hannah Boulevard just east of the Michigan Athletic Club is planning another one.
Together, Hannah Lofts and The Lodges house roughly 1,700 tenants. The new project being proposed by Capstone Collegiate Communities would accommodate 650 more.
Back in December, the Alabama company, also known as C3, proposed building two four-story apartment buildings, 56 three-story townhouses and a two-story parking garage just east of Hagadorn Road in Meridian Township a short walk from Michigan State University. The 269-unit development would be located on the southwest corner of Hannah Boulevard and Eyde Parkway between The Lodges and Hannah Lofts.
They say the plan is still conceptual mostly because Meridian Township - as it always does - has some concerns. It wants less density/more greenspace in the development, and they don't wanted the housing options so heavily geared toward students. They are going to release a revised plan as early as this month.
I have just read that the university has told local governments that they are not planning to expand the number of students beyond this point. Yet we keep hearing about huge rental housing projects being built all around MSU. I understand that the area has a growing population but is there really a need for thousands of new units? I hope so, but I often wonder who is going to live in all these new places. I thought the article in the LSJ about, can East Lansing get downtown right, was well written and had some good information about this subject.
Yeah, I saw the same note that the university said. However, these developments are necessary and will become fully occupied. It is the developments on the outskirts that will suffer from these new developments.
The majority of students don't want to live so far from campus, and developments like Chandler Crossings will need to adjust their marketing towards other types of tenants in order to survive.
As long as the development is along one of the following areas it will succeed: Michigan Ave (in the case of Red Cedar/Frandor area developments), Grand River (directly across from campus), Trowbridge (west side of campus, directly across the street) or Hannah Plaza (east side of campus, directly across the street).
Hannah Farms - near the Lodges and the Lofts - has been scaled back, and it's probably for the best.
In December, Capstone, known as C3, proposed building two four-story apartment buildings and 56 townhouses east of the Michigan Athletic Club. The development would have accommodated 650 people. C3 built The Lodges and Hannah Lofts in the same area, which together house 1,700 tenants along Hannah Boulevard.
The project will now accommodate 462 people, nearly 200 less, in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The company ditched the second apartment complex and added nine more townhouses.
Hannah Farms would have 159 units . It's planned for the southwest corner of Hannah Boulevard and Eyde Parkway between The Lodges and Hannah Lofts.
The project will not include a retail element like Hannah Lofts does, Acken said, because there is not enough vehicle traffic on that end of the street to support businesses. Instead, he said the development will strengthen the businesses in the shopping center on the corner of Hagadorn Road and Hannah Boulevard.
Comments
I think the $67 million here is related to how large the project is. The picture shown is only a small component of the advertised project, which would redevelop a very large plot of land at this corner.
I would prefer that this development not happen though, as it pulls the sprawl out even further and isn't along a heavy frequency CATA route.
Going through the [January 9th Meridian Township Planning Commission Packet] there's a couple things of note:
(From page 135) Hannah East is essentially an expansion of the Lodges at Hannah, it will have 290 units with 621 beds. (Renderings on pages 157-158) With this development, the Hannah/Eyde Blvd area would be almost completely filled in, and with fairly dense development.
Also, under "Site Plans Approved" in the table of contents it lists a "64,000 square foot, 97 room Marriott Courtyard hotel at the corner of Jolly Oak
Road and Meridian Crossings Drive." I can't find any mention of it in the body of the meeting packet though.
Hadn't heard about this one. Apparently, a developer wants to build about 383 units of housing on the Walnut Hills Golf Course. As you'd expect, particularly for land this far out, the neighbors are largely opposed, citing specifically that the developers want a zoning change which would allow for more density, though as you can see from the overhead, part of the club was already zoned for the density the owner is requesting.
The club has been troubled and why they still occupy the site, they don't have the deed to the land. Some former club members were given "right of first refusal" on the property, and they weren't able to come up with the money to purchase the old golf course, though they continue to look into doing so, especially now with this planned.
All in all, the whole situation sounds like a mess.
I can see this being a difficult decision. I'm sure the neighborhood and the township would like to see this site continue as a well maintained country club, but if it's not economically viable as a golf course then a new use has to be found for the property or else it will just be an overgrown mess doing no one any good. It looks like this plan leaves a fair amount of open space and the housing looks to fit in well with what already exists in this area.
This is also a good opportunity to once again laugh at the hypocrisy of some Meridian Township residents (or NIMBYs in general). It's another case where people in a newly built subdivision get all up-in-arms over someone wanting to build a very similar subdivision on adjacent property. Do they realize or care that the construction of their neighborhood was very likely met with the same resistance? Sometimes I wish I could talk to one of these people, talk them through how illogical their position is.
Yes, I think it is good to be concerned about what is being built, but it is misguided to fear change as with the BRT. They should get the township to buy the course and make it a park and pay for it with their property taxes if they feel a new neighborhood would effect their's negatively.
Hood, looks like this LSJ article from this morning is about Hannah East (now called Hannah Farms East):
They say the plan is still conceptual mostly because Meridian Township - as it always does - has some concerns. It wants less density/more greenspace in the development, and they don't wanted the housing options so heavily geared toward students. They are going to release a revised plan as early as this month.
I have just read that the university has told local governments that they are not planning to expand the number of students beyond this point. Yet we keep hearing about huge rental housing projects being built all around MSU. I understand that the area has a growing population but is there really a need for thousands of new units? I hope so, but I often wonder who is going to live in all these new places. I thought the article in the LSJ about, can East Lansing get downtown right, was well written and had some good information about this subject.
Yeah, I saw the same note that the university said. However, these developments are necessary and will become fully occupied. It is the developments on the outskirts that will suffer from these new developments.
The majority of students don't want to live so far from campus, and developments like Chandler Crossings will need to adjust their marketing towards other types of tenants in order to survive.
As long as the development is along one of the following areas it will succeed: Michigan Ave (in the case of Red Cedar/Frandor area developments), Grand River (directly across from campus), Trowbridge (west side of campus, directly across the street) or Hannah Plaza (east side of campus, directly across the street).
Hannah Farms - near the Lodges and the Lofts - has been scaled back, and it's probably for the best.