Lansing-East Lansing, MI Development

[hood]

Well, I may as well call out the other sites, I've linked to this site from there afterall. You might be thinking of urbanplanet which doesn't have an active Lansing section anymore, I was speaking of develop.metrolansing, it's quite active amongst the small group that frequents it.

[subterranean]

That is the one I was thinking of. I tried signing up, or "applying", but it has not yet been approved.

[hood]

The ~15 year saga of the City Center II/Michigan Museum Place/Park District plan may finally be coming to a conclusion. The original developer finally lost the properties to foreclosure earlier this year and a Chicago based developer has bought the properties. They have proposed a 12 floor building at the northwest corner of Grand River and Abbot with 153 hotel rooms and 179 apartments along with commercial space, there will also be an 8 floor 175 unit apartment/condo building and 7 floor 600 space parking ramp on Evergreen.

Plans for East Lansing hotel, luxury apartments expanded








While there's not much news on the Red Cedar Renaissance itself, details on the accompanying drain project are becoming clear. There will be numerous water features, public art pieces and natural areas:
The Art of Clean Water - City Pulse

Watershed Moment - City Pulse

Ranney Park:



There's a reasonably sized development slated for the northeast corner of Larch & Shiawassee. The development will consist of two 4 floor 77 unit buildings. Details are sparse now but a site plan was available in planning board documents:



It's in the very, very early planning stages, but MSU is considering partnering with Mclaren to build a new hospital adjacent to campus. The new hospital would be located on non-campus university owned land near Forest and Collins. Mclaren would shutter its Pennsylvania campus and move it to the new location, MSU's primary motivation is to have a teaching hospital for their College of Osteopathic Medicine, although it sounds likely more programs would be included.
MSU, McLaren in discussions to build a teaching hospital southwest of campus - City Pulse


Also of note, two new hotels proposed for Eastwood. There will be a 143 room, 7 floor Holiday Inn (below) and a 139 room, 7 floor Hilton Homewood Suites constructed near the recently complete Hyatt Place on Showtime Drive. Both hotels could begin construction by the end of the year.




I haven't gotten out to take pictures in quite awhile, but all the area construction projects have progressed well. The 300 W Grand River project in East Lansing is complete; Skyvue and the Sparrow Cancer Center in Lansing are topped out with facade work underway; all but one of the buildings at MSU's 1855 Place are topped out while several are finished and occupied; construction will begin soon on East Town Flats (Michigan & Clemens) and Stonehouse Village IV (Grand River & Bailey).

[hood]

There's been a handful of new developments announced recently in the Lansing area, here's an overview of them:

-Scott Gillespie's East Town (SE corner of Michigan and Clemens) has had its design slightly modified and began construction a little over a month ago, it should be complete in the late summer or fall.


-Two blocks down, at the southwest corner of Hayford and Michigan Scott Gillespie just proposed a new building, Provident Place. The $7 million project will be four floors with ground floor retail and 33 apartments above, it is slated for a late 2018 completion.



-Across the street, halfway between these two developments at the northeast corner of Michigan and Fairview the conversion of a former bank into a restaurant and microbrewery has been underway for a couple months and is structurally complete.


-On the south side of Lansing, at the south west corner of Dunckel and Collins a developer is proposing a 629k sq ft development consisting of 6 four floor apartment buildings with a total of 453 units, a three floor 90 room hotel and a one floor retail building. This one's in its early stages and has only a site plan pulled from planning documents:


-Site work has begun on a much needed 5 floor, 122 room Hilton Garden Inn on the west side of the metro near the Saginaw / I-96 interchange. Site work at former Days Inn to make way for new hotel, restaurant - LSJ

-DTN, the developer of the The Vista at The Heights, has proposed building up to 500 more apartments at The Heights (a northerly expansion of Eastwood Towne Center). They would begin building a 4-5 floor 100 unit building directly north of the recently completed Hyatt Place sometime this summer, they would then have the option of building up to 400 more units elsewhere within The Heights. Up to 500 new apartments proposed at The Heights - LSJ

-A tentative deal has been worked out to sell the former GM sites on Lansing's west side to NorthPoint, a developer of industrial parks. They primarily expect to lure companies related to the auto industry. They will build approximately 2 million square feet of space spread amongst facilities 125k sq ft or larger, construction could begin within a year. Developer buying four Lansing-area ex-GM properties - LSJ Plans To Develop GM RACER Trust Sites In Lansing

-Work will begin in August on a $100 million 170k sq ft Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building at the south east corner of Bogue and Service. The building is slated to house around 100 newly recruited faculty members, the university also plans to build complimentary classroom and lab space elsewhere on campus. MSU will build $100 million research center

-MSU is also planning an expansion of their College of Business near the corner of Bogue and Shaw. The four floor building will replace the existing Eppley Building, there's no start date as of now. Eli Broad College of Business Addition No. 2 - Graduate Pavilion - MSU IPF



I haven't managed to get out and take photos myself, but here's a few shots taken from various webcams of currently underway projects in the area:

1855 Place - looking west at Harrison Rd side of site


Breslin Hall of History addition - looking east


Skyvue - Looking south at the back of the building


Sparrow cancer center addition - Looking south

[subterranean]

Thanks again for the update.

Quite the little building boom happening in Lansing/East Lansing. I'm actually quite a bit surprised, as Lansing has always sort of lagged behind Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. The city definitely needs to strengthen those corridor districts, such as the east side/Michigan Ave corridor, and REO Town. The downtown leaves much to be desired for a city of its size. What I'd really love to see as well are all of those state surface parking lots converted into mixed use developments.

[hood]

Hopefully this is just the beginning of a much more significant building boom, which I think may actually be the case. The Lansing area largely missed out on the pre-2009 building spree that many areas experienced, we were just beginning to see some momentum before the market crashed and most of the projects proposed at that time were never built. It seems as though the area is picking up some serious momentum, my money's on 2017 being a significantly more active year for development than 2016.

[hood]

A few new developments:

A Chicago based developer in partnership with a local property owner/manager has proposed a $132 million dollar mixed use development. There would be a 12 floor apartment building facing Grand River mid block between Abbot and MAC while City Lot #1 along Albert would be replaced with a 6 floor parking ramp, a portion of which would have a 6 floor senior apartment building built above it. The project includes 364 apartments and 42,000 square feet of retail between the two buildings and 715 parking spaces in the ramp. This project is taking place one block east of the Park District redevelopment which is currently back on the drawing board due to a dispute between the developer and the city over incentives.

Details Emerge on Lifestyle District Plan (Now called Center City District)





Also in East Lansing, a new 4 floor hotel and small commercial building are planned to replace the closed Howard Johnson on Trowbridge right where it becomes an onramp: $12M hotel project planned for Trowbridge Road


The second phase of the Marketplace apartments broke ground to little fanfare: $11M project to add riverfront apartments downtown. Picture of phase 1 followed be renderings of completed phase 1/2:





On a sadder note, the most unwanted project in awhile is underway. Site work has begun for an electrical substation that will replace a large portion of Scott Park at the southwest corner of Malcolm X and Washington. There is a historic "sunken garden" and a currently-unused house that will be demolished to make way for the substation, perhaps more importantly this is a prominent piece of riverfront land on one of the main roads in and out of downtown. The design is not final but the best received design by community members has them building the wall to look like a building's facade, complete with windows:Hide it or flaunt it?

[deja vu]

Spiffed up and simplified
Downtown Lansing library makeover balances books and people
Lawrence Cosentino, Lansing City Pulse, March 08, 2017


Image: New Circulation Desk

Images Source: Lansing City Pulse http://lansingcitypulse.com/article-...implified.html

Lansing architect Todd Gute is a busy man, but he found time to go to an adult coloring session at the Capital Area District Libraries’ downtown Lansing branch last fall.

“My kids are too old and too cool to color with me anymore,” he explained.

Also, he needed the practice. His next job was to color in the whole library.

Gute is the project architect for the $670,000 makeover of the library’s first and second floors that will be unveiled in a series of events this month.

The renovation simplifies and opens up the interior, adds more places to sit and generally spiffs up the 1964 “Mad Men”-era interior of the glittering white rectangle at 401 S. Capitol Ave.

The makeover is a big step in the library’s 21st-century pivot from a maze of bookshelves to a flexible hub of information and social activity.

The project was paid for by CADL reserve funds and donations from Friends of the Libraries organizations.

The most dramatic part of the transformation will greet visitors right away.
Inside the front doors, a large, curved desk big enough for an airline check-in will suck patrons deeper into the library.

Simplification and de-cluttering are key goals of the project. Circulation and information services will both be found at the big new front desk, instead of separate stations. The old glass partition between the foyer and main floor, where people tended to clump like leaves blowing in from the street, is gone.

Read the Full Article: http://lansingcitypulse.com/article-...implified.html

[deja vu]

(This applies to more than just the Lansing area, but since it is related to the Michigan Strategic Fund, I'm including it on this thread)

Michigan Strategic Fund approves projects that will invest in state, create jobs
By Amber Ainsworth, via ClickOnDetroit
February 28, 2017

LANSING, Mich. - Projects expected to generate nearly $187 million in total investment and create 1,445 jobs in Michigan were approved by the Michigan Strategic Fund, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced Tuesday.

AM General, LLC, a manufacturer of military, commercial and consumer vehicles headquartered in South Bend, Ind., is planning to move operations from a site in Livonia to a facility in Auburn Hills. The Michigan location was chosen over an Indiana location closer to the headquarters. The company will invest $9.5 million with the move and 55 new jobs will be created. AM General was awarded a $1.4 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant.

Antolin Shelby, Inc., a subsidiary of interior auto components global manufacturer Grupo Antolin, is planning to lease a build-to-suit facility in Shelby Township. The company will be investing $61.2 million and creating 430 new jobs. The company chose Michigan over a site in Illinois, and has received a $3.6 million performance-based grant.

A company that provides indirect auto financing to consumers, Credit Acceptance Corporation, is planning to invest $33 million in Southfield, creating about 530 jobs. The company received a $2.3 million performance-based grant.

Huron, Inc., a manufacturer of complex tubular assembly components for automobile engines and transmissions, was awarded new contracts to expand its Worth Township, Mich. facility. It will be a $12.9 million investment that will create 181 jobs. The company, founded in Lexington, Mich., chose Michigan over sites in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky, and received a $1.4 million performance-based grant.

The Kalamazoo County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority received approval of a $7,283,675 in local and school tax capture for the alleviation of brownfield conditions that will assist with the expansion of the Stryker Corporation in Portage. Stryker is a medical technology company, and the tax capture will be used for site preparation and infrastructure improvements.
Brownfield properties are land that may be contaminated with hazardous material. The investment is estimated to be $215 million and will create and expected 105 jobs. The company was awarded a $1 million performance-based grant in December.

The City of Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority received approval of $675,069 for the alleviation of brownfield conditions located at 637 Michigan Street NE in downtown Grand Rapids, as well as $8,665,164 in local and school tax capture for the alleviation of brownfield conditions for the 150 Ottawa Development LLC project in downtown Grand Rapids.
The project on Michigan Street is expected to generate nearly $6.9 million in total capital investment and create 12 jobs, and the Ottawa Development is expected to generate a total capital investment of $63.5 million and create 235 jobs.

The Michigan Strategic Fund also approved a loan award up to $10 million from the MSF Investment Fund for the Michigan Community Capital Fund to facilitate investment in “attainable housing” projects. Attainable housing is aimed at those with incomes between 60 and 120 percent of area median income.

Two innovation hubs through the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization Statewide Program were also approved. The University of Michigan’s College of Engineering will receive $1.7 million to serve as an Advanced Transportation Innovation Hub and Michigan Technological University will receive $525,000 to serve as the Advanced Materials Innovation Hub.

A one-year contract extension was approved with Aviareps for tourism promotion services in China to attract more Chinese tourism to the state.
“The Michigan Strategic Fund took on an extensive agenda that promotes a wide array of new economic opportunities for the people of Michigan,” said Gov. Rick Snyder.

Link to the full article here.

[deja vu]

Image: Exterior view of the One Michigan Avenue Building, 120 N Washington Square, Lansing, which was recently acquired by Grand Rapids-based Vision Real Estate.
Image Source: MiBiz

Vision Real Estate acquires downtown Lansing office property
By Nick Manes, via MiBiz
Thursday, 30 March 2017

LANSING — A nascent Grand Rapids real estate firm has expanded to the state’s capitol. Grand Rapids-based Vision Real Estate Investment Inc. today announced its acquisition of the 10-story, 154,000-square-foot One Michigan Avenue building located at 120 North Washington Square in downtown Lansing. The office building includes tenants such as PNC Bank, law firms like Miller Canfield Paddock & Stone PLC, Warner Norcross & Judd LLP and office space provider Regus Group Co.

“We’re eager to bring our model of first class management and unparalleled service to our tenants to Lansing with the purchase of One Michigan Avenue,” Tim Engen, founder and CEO of Vision Real Estate Investment, said in a statement. “One Michigan Avenue is a remarkable property uniquely situated steps from a vibrant and growing collection of retail and restaurants as well as the seat of state government. The Vision team is looking forward to being a part of the Lansing community and investing in its continued economic success and development.”

Vision Real Estate said it plans to invest about $1 million in upgrades to the building, improving the lobby, elevators and signage. One Michigan Avenue was previously owned by OMA Lansing LLC, an entity registered to Lansing businessman Kris Elliott, according to state records. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Vision Real Estate also owns the 99 Monroe office building in downtown Grand Rapids, as well as real estate around the state, including in Detroit, Norton Shores and Greenville.

Link to the full article here.

[LMich]

Target is going to open in downtown East Lansing:

Target plans to open in downtown East Lansing

By Alexander Alusheff | Lansing State Journal

April 12, 2017

EAST LANSING - Target plans to open a small store inside the Center City District proposed for downtown East Lansing.

The store would occupy 22,000 square feet on the first floor of a 12-story building proposed for the 100 block of East Grand River Avenue, according to a news release from a consulting firm working with Chicago-based Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors, which is developing the project.

Slated to open in 2019, it would be smaller than Target's big-box stores and would sell groceries, beauty products, home decor and apparel.

[hood]

A few updates:

MSU has finalized it's design for it's new interdisciplinary science and technology building-Link to MSU's site on the project-. The building will come in at 6 floors, 160k square feet and cost approximately $100 million. It will be built in south campus near the southeast corner of Service Rd and Bogue. Site work is just beginning now and the building should be completed in August 2019.


MSU has also finalized it's design on an expansion to its Broad College of Business, the LSJ just recently ran an article on the project: $62M MSU business school expansion aims for Google vibe. The 3 floor, 100k square foot expansion is slated to begin construction in May and wrap up in July 2019.



There's also a new rendering of the main building of Park District project at the northwest corner of Abbot and Grand River in East Lansing. The LSJ had it in a recent article about the project: East Lansing could take risk on Park District

[subterranean]

That is a pretty sleepy area for the new science and technology building. I realize having all that land is pretty enticing for expansion/development but hell. I wish they would start integrating some of these major buildings into the fabric of the city.

Also, if I had a dollar for every conceptual rending for the Grand River/Abbot site...

[hood]

This proposal for Grand River & Abbott is different though, it's a development firm out of Chicago and they have moved things along quickly. All the necessary approvals and incentives from the city were passed yesterday: $154M East Lansing Park District project is on again. Assuming the state approves the project for a Michigan Business Tax Credit, the old buildings on the site should be demolished in the summer and construction on the main building would begin in May 2018. I'm keeping my fingers crossed but I think it's actually going to happen this time.

That south campus area is getting busier, they've recently built two new buildings there and they plan on developing it further, including new roads connecting to Mt Hope and Hagadorn. The Hannah Blvd area (directly across Hagadorn) is also expanding, in the past 5 years or so there's been two hotels and about 1700 beds of residential built with almost 500 more beds on the way. Not that I wouldn't rather see the new buildings along Shaw or Wilson somewhere, but they apparently have plans to fill all those parking lots and empty spaces also.

[subterranean]

I've only been in Portland for about 2 years, and know the area really well as I lived in Lansing for about 10 years. I remember laughing at the development at Hagadorn and Mt. Hope when it came through our office at Meridian Township 10 years ago when I was an intern. Not that I don't like to see that kind of development. But it's the context. It's a mixed use development close to the road across from the farm fields on MSU's campus, which there is no municipal land use jurisdiction and wouldn't likely be developed in the same fashion. But it sounds like maybe things are creeping. I just don't put any faith whatsoever in MSU's land use and planning decisions. It's very obvious that whoever is in charge over there couldn't care less how its developed, just that it is developed. I imagine any big institution with a seemingly endless supply of land would do the same.

I'm with you on the Abbot/Grand River development. This time it's looking like a go. I've been watching this thing for so long that it's hard not to be a little cynical. There were actually functional businesses in there when I went to MSU. Thai Hut, the bank was still open, curiosity book shop, etc.

On another topic, whatever happened to that East Village proposal that was floated a looooong time ago? Basically that whole area where the frat houses and Cedar Village was supposed to get dozed and completely redeveloped. Also, that section of Grand River from Bogue to Hagadorn was supposed to get a median and new streetscape. Any info on that?

[hood]

I'm not happy with MSU's spraw either but looking at their master plan I do think they have a decent vision for future land use. I wish they took a fundamentally different approach to land use and development but as you said, they have virtually unlimited land so there's little incentive to give a great deal of thought about how to use it. I think they're happy with having a suburban/park-like setting throughout campus.

As for East Village, it was just proposed at a very bad time, right before the real estate/financial market crash, there won't be a large monolithic development there and I don't think the company involved in the original proposal will be involved in the future. The city is still interested in the same sort of developments for that area though and they recently made some zoning changes for the East Village district that should be more accommodating to developers. There is a proposal on the horizon in that area; back in February there was an item in a city council agenda introducing a proposal to build a building up to 10 floors at the southeast corner of Bogue and Grand River, it would likely replace the 7-11 and Instant Oil Change. There weren't any more details at the time and I haven't heard anything about it since, but I'll post about it here if I see anything.

[subterranean]

Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm still very interested in Lansing and Detroit development news, it's just a little harder to follow Lansing these days.

[LMich]

Center City in downtown East Lansing, which is nearing approval, has some new renderings for a slightly downsized plan:

The project keeps the existing alley:



Patio above the parking garage:



City Target on the Grand River frontage:



Full Grand River frontage also showing the proposed Park District/100 Grand:



Albert frontage:





Depending on the proposal chosen (base option or option #1), the tallest building will be between about 132 feet to 140 feet.

[Rizzo]

Looks really good. The parking garage is well concealed and the facade is nicely layered

[uaarkson]

East Lansing is going to end up looking like Waterloo, ON.