I didn't know about the Lou and Harry's moving. I read that the Baskin Robbins next door has been hurting ever since the university opened up the cafe on Sundays and keeps it open until midnight every night.
New restaurant to occupy BTB location
...
Gunn, who co-owns Brother’s Grill with his wife Michelle, an MSU employee, said there will be a variety of food including soups, sandwiches, salads and possibly breakfast. There also will be a complete overhaul of the seating from the previous layout, with booths and two- and four-person tables, Gunn said. Gunn said he hopes to open the new restaurant on Dec. 12.
That's faster than I thought something would come in, but they might have moved out a while ago. The State News was slow to cover the closing of Moe's Firehouse Grill before, so it could have happened again. The new restaurant sounds good, I'll have to try it when it opens.
That really is fast. I give these business owners a lot of credit for opening new restaurants in this economy, but lets hope that they actually last as a result.
This is the old Taco Bell building, right? If so, I'm suprised another resturaunt is going to give it a try, I wish the market wasn't so bad, otherwise we would likely be seeing a new building soon.
Big Ten Burrito isn't in the Taco Bell building. Big Ten Burrito was located next to the Starbucks at the corner of Grand River and Charles. Taco Bell is located at Grand River and Bailey.
I think there will be something coming for the lot of the Taco Bell, but probably only if Stonehouse Village III gets their rental licenses.
Tomorrow's City Council meeting will decide on Ordinance 1199, which is a proposal to rezone 3.8 acres near the intersection of Louis St and Michigan Ave. This ordinance was brought forward by Community Resource Management Company.
If this ordinance passes, the density of these properties will nearly double, moving from 32 to 54 units per acre. I wouldn't be surprised to hear a project announced in late Spring if this passes. The location of these properties makes them somewhat immune to the national economic crisis given that there should always be high demand for rentals right across the street from MSU.
There is a proposal to rezone some land on 3515 West Rd from Residential Acreage to B-4 Restricted Office Business District for the construction of the GreenStone Farm Credit Services headquarters.
I'm not sure how much land is in question, but this area is quickly turning in to the financial sector for the Lansing area. I'm disappointed that it has come to this. With real estate prices continuing to drop, there should be no reason to build on farm land. The municipalities in control here should realize that further sprawl will spread resources thin and hurt the municipality as budgets continue to shrink with the economy.
There's two large proposals coming before the Planning Commission on January 14th. GreenStone Farm Credit Services is looking to build a ~75,000 sq ft headquarters on West Road and Branoff Investment Group plans to build 60 units and 18,000 sq ft of retail on Abbot Road north of Lake Lansing.
A public hearing will be held to consider an application from Branoff Investment Group, LLC for a modification to an approved site plan for Abbot Road Real Estate Development, LLC. The site plan for the 12.3 acre parcel, located at 6210 Abbot Road, consists of 60 dwelling units and approximately 18,000 sq. ft. of retail space, including 40 townhouse dwellings and 20 apartments, marketed as condominiums. The proposed modification would change condition #20 of the conditions of approval to allow a family or three unrelated occupants to rent a unit with a rental.
A public hearing will be held to consider an application from GreenStone Farm Credit Services for Site Plan and Special Use Permit approval to construct a 74,437 square foot office building on the approximately 15.22 acre parcel at 3515 West Road. The building would be the headquarters for GreenStone and would allow for future construction of a second phase building expansion. The property is proposed to be rezoned to the B-4, Restricted Office Business District, in conjunction with Ordinance 1208.
This is just more sprawl and really should be stopped. The GreenStone headquarters could do a lot for either downtown East Lansing or Lansing. The employees that work for these companies that locate in the Northern Tier are forced to drive to work and drive for their lunch. These developments are not sustainable and put more stress on utilities, snow plowing, road improvements and more.
I'd like to point out that neither of these developments have LEED mentioned anywhere near their them, but also the hypocrisy of a LEED development in an area like the Northern Tier. MSUFCU is marketing pretty strongly that they have "gone green", but I can't seem to fathom the idea that tearing down a tree farm to build three surface parking lots and adding a road is going green. Can somebody else explain this? Aren't there preexisting surface parking lots that can be converted to LEED structures? (See: Albert Place Condominiums)
I'm more amazed that anyone would build 60 residential units and all of that retail out in the North Tier given the economy. I mean, the Beaumont isn't exactly selling like hot-cakes, is it? BTW, I've never heard of GreenStone credit in my life. lol
The first mistake was annexing the Northern Tier for suburban development in the first place, so I can't really blame the developers for doing what they do, anyway. This is the city's fault for ever allowing this to happen. East Lansing leadership has been weird to me in the past decade or so. They once actually tried to be progressive, but now they are selling this neo-progressivism that includes glorified strip malls and "urban" condo developments built on cow paddies as "progressive".
I also wish they could be building in more urban areas, but at least their staying in the Lansing area.
As for the residential project, now is an awesome time to build, property values and interest rates are at historic lows. By the time the first units are ready to sell (1 1/2 - 2 years) the economy should be turning around. I don't think the Beaumont is doing to well, I think one major problem is that one of it's selling points is having a neighborhood feel, with parks and open space. With them doing it in phases they can't show people what the finished product will be.
Comments
I think there will be something coming for the lot of the Taco Bell, but probably only if Stonehouse Village III gets their rental licenses.
If this ordinance passes, the density of these properties will nearly double, moving from 32 to 54 units per acre. I wouldn't be surprised to hear a project announced in late Spring if this passes. The location of these properties makes them somewhat immune to the national economic crisis given that there should always be high demand for rentals right across the street from MSU.
I'm not sure how much land is in question, but this area is quickly turning in to the financial sector for the Lansing area. I'm disappointed that it has come to this. With real estate prices continuing to drop, there should be no reason to build on farm land. The municipalities in control here should realize that further sprawl will spread resources thin and hurt the municipality as budgets continue to shrink with the economy.
I'd like to point out that neither of these developments have LEED mentioned anywhere near their them, but also the hypocrisy of a LEED development in an area like the Northern Tier. MSUFCU is marketing pretty strongly that they have "gone green", but I can't seem to fathom the idea that tearing down a tree farm to build three surface parking lots and adding a road is going green. Can somebody else explain this? Aren't there preexisting surface parking lots that can be converted to LEED structures? (See: Albert Place Condominiums)
The first mistake was annexing the Northern Tier for suburban development in the first place, so I can't really blame the developers for doing what they do, anyway. This is the city's fault for ever allowing this to happen. East Lansing leadership has been weird to me in the past decade or so. They once actually tried to be progressive, but now they are selling this neo-progressivism that includes glorified strip malls and "urban" condo developments built on cow paddies as "progressive".
As for the residential project, now is an awesome time to build, property values and interest rates are at historic lows. By the time the first units are ready to sell (1 1/2 - 2 years) the economy should be turning around. I don't think the Beaumont is doing to well, I think one major problem is that one of it's selling points is having a neighborhood feel, with parks and open space. With them doing it in phases they can't show people what the finished product will be.