I have absolutely no idea how Township residents would react to an annexation attempt by Lansing. I know they'd have a local income tax and probably higher property taxes to deal with, the City would have to make a good case as to why it's worth it. I'm sure some township residents have to be disgruntled about the amount of attention paid to and investment in Eastwood, an area where virtually no residents live. I would be curious to see what residents of Lansing Township have to say.
Yeah, that's all I really want to know. Throw the question out there and see what kind of response it gets. It'd be interesting to see some polling. I think Lansing may still be years away from convicing anyone neighborhood outside our boundaries to join with the city, but it'd be good to see this question tested. Yeaha, it'd mean higher taxes, no doubt, but that comes with higher levels of services. This, of course, is if we're talking about residential annexations. If' w'ere just talking the contiguous GM sites, that would seem to be a much easier sell to my ears: You can let your tiny township planning and EDC departments mess around and see what they can do and let the sites sit blighted for the foreseeable future, or you can turn them over to the city who have more tools to market these sites as a package and possibly get them sooner developed so you don't have to live across from these wastelands forever.
Quite frankly, I'm really interested in the huge tracts of vacant land in the township on the westside. Knowing that the township would never allow the annexation of their "downtown" at Eastwood, and given that a lot of the residential and industrial properties south of Saginaw in the township are actually worse off than a lot stuff in the city (meaning, they've probably use more services than anything we'd get back in taxes), if we could get our hands on the hundreds of acres of empty industrial lands on the GM sites to redevelop, that'd be enough for me, quite frankly. The kind of taxes we could generate off of such massive sites would be good insurance for our budget as we enter this new phase of growth.
Just noticed this weekend that the Lansing Brewing Company building has been painted fire-engine red. Huge mistake, in my opinion. It looks magnitudes better with its more subtle purple undercoat.
I'm not the biggest fan of it but it works for a couple of reasons. It's painted red with sections in black for what I assume to match the Lugnuts colors. Also I feel that the bright new paint job does quite a bit to make it stand out in that block which a majority are vacant buildings. It helps that they cleared out some of them but I think they may need some help to get noticed there.
This is so cool. The US-127 underpass at Michigan Avenue is going to get some serious artistic upgrades from a Lansing native - who also happens to be a graphic designed for the MDOT - who will add four murals, and LEAP will also add lighting. This is going to mean the drifters who work that corner, though, and who live under there are going to have to move, now.
LANSING – You may not know his name but you are probably very familiar with the work of Brian Whitfield, an artist who designed the state’s Mackinac Bridge specialty license plate.
If you live in the Lansing area, you’re about to know his art even better.
Whitfield has been commissioned by the Lansing Economic Area Partnership to do a mural that Michigan Avenue drivers traveling to and from East Lansing and Lansing will be able to enjoy when it is completed next year.
The artist was selected to lead the improvement of the US-127 underpass on Michigan Avenue just west of the Frandor Shopping Center. Now a dingy gray with concrete slabs covered in road dirt, the underpass will be improved with new lighting and four murals.
Details:
For the mural project, Whitfield envisions a homage to the auto industry on the north side of the underpass along with a skyline and depiction of the community and families in Lansing.
On the south side, for cars passing into East Lansing, he will create a mural that will signify the world being opened by education. Though he’s prohibited by state rules against advertising from using Spartans or the Michigan State University logo, he said MSU’s role will be illustrated through buildings or people.
See, this is the kind of small creative things that can be done that will have huge visual impacts. This is what people are talking about when they talk about "placemaking."
I really want to see the Michigan Avenue Bridge in downtown redesigned in an interesting way. Despiting being one of Lansing's main streets, it's easily the ugliest of the downtown bridges, now.
Yeah, that bridge sucks, on the plus side it's practically invisible from the road. The Kalamazoo St bridge isn't much better, it's in decent shape but is the standard railing and the way it arches it really separates the two sides of the river.
Really, the whole riverfront from Michigan to Kalamazoo is disappointing, the existing Rivertrail on the east bank is kind of dilapidated and now one of the two Michigan Ave access stairs is closed off. The west bank Rivertrail has been closed for years and was never really complete to begin with. But that's a rant and discussion in and of itself. They really do need to at least give the Michigan Ave bridge a face lift if it's going to be around for awhile and they need to fix up this section of the Rivertrail.
Comments
Quite frankly, I'm really interested in the huge tracts of vacant land in the township on the westside. Knowing that the township would never allow the annexation of their "downtown" at Eastwood, and given that a lot of the residential and industrial properties south of Saginaw in the township are actually worse off than a lot stuff in the city (meaning, they've probably use more services than anything we'd get back in taxes), if we could get our hands on the hundreds of acres of empty industrial lands on the GM sites to redevelop, that'd be enough for me, quite frankly. The kind of taxes we could generate off of such massive sites would be good insurance for our budget as we enter this new phase of growth.
Details:
See, this is the kind of small creative things that can be done that will have huge visual impacts. This is what people are talking about when they talk about "placemaking."
Really, the whole riverfront from Michigan to Kalamazoo is disappointing, the existing Rivertrail on the east bank is kind of dilapidated and now one of the two Michigan Ave access stairs is closed off. The west bank Rivertrail has been closed for years and was never really complete to begin with. But that's a rant and discussion in and of itself. They really do need to at least give the Michigan Ave bridge a face lift if it's going to be around for awhile and they need to fix up this section of the Rivertrail.
I expected something with a bit more realism, but maybe it'll look better as it's more fleshed out.