[LMich]

The Troppos (upscale restaurant) expansion has begun according to the State Journal:

Construction on Lansing's Troppo underway

Melissa Domsic • mdomsic@lsj.com • July 27, 2009 • From LSJ.com

An expanded dining room, patio, bar, kitchen and banquet facilities are all part of Troppo’s plans for its new restaurant, now under construction.

Troppo, located in 5,000 square feet at Washington Square and Michigan Avenue, plans to double its space in a new two-story building across Michigan Avenue.

Tavern on the Square, also located on Washington Square, is projected to move into Troppo’s current location. The new Troppo will be located adjacent to the One Michigan Avenue office building.

Construction will take four to six months, said Jason Keusch, executive chef.
Construction was originally slated to start early this year, but was delayed when the project lost some of its bank financing, said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Development Corporation.

Restaurateur Kris Elliott then raised cash from investors for the more than $1 million project, Trezise said. Elliott also owns Tavern on the Square.

The EDC also will loan $440,000 to Troppo for restaurant equipment.
The loan comes from federal dollars granted to the EDC about 20 years ago, Trezise said.

Troppo still has $224,000 to pay on its EDC loan for the current restaurant location.
They’ll pay off half of that upon closing on the new loan next month, then pay the rest in a year, he said.

“We’re building another building in real hard economic times, and that’s the kind of faith the private sector has in the city,” Trezise said. “This is going to show visitors to the state, week in and week out, that something is really happening in Lansing.”

Pictures to jog the memory:

Before:



After:



Construction:


Matthew Dae Smith/For the Lansing State Journal