Lansing-East Lansing, MI Development

[Velvet_Highground]

Yup. If I were a true optimist I would say it’s an opening to build out a new wing of the Lansing skyline towards the Grand River. I’m not a pessimist though but I thought Grand Rapids when I saw the placement and with GR’s sold growth they still haven’t rationalized their skyline.

I’m glad to see a major project in the works (hopefully) with the goal of getting state workers to live downtown. I really want to say that this could jumpstart a new phase in development in downtown Lansing, I want to see it happen. I’m not overly familiar with the in’s and outs of the state of play in the city but there’s definitely potential to be unlocked.

Not trying to be down on the city it’s made great strides over the past couple decades & I don’t doubt we’ll keep seeing more good news, of that I have no question. I just really what city leaders and developers to understand just how important it is to get a project like this the first new skyscraper in decades right.

Smh this is probably going to scare Ann Arbor into downsizing its next few tall proposals. You let developers build one tall awkward building in the 70’s and it ruins it for every skyscraper enthusiast who wants to see a tall balanced skyline built in Michigan, lol.

[subterranean]

I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but I lived in Lansing and worked for the state for about a decade. Very familiar with this town. Lansing is fairly livable overall, but its biggest issues in my mind are as follows:

• Most state workers want nothing to do with living in Lansing. Nearly everyone I know who still lives there are in either Grand Ledge, Portland, DeWitt, East Lansing, Okemos, or Williamston. Like with other urban areas, the primary issue is the schools. Of the people I knew who do/did live in the city itself, they were either young professionals without kids, empty nesters, or Catholics who sent their kids to private schools (Catholic Central). East Lansing and Okemos are both near the top in term of rankings. Larry Page graduated from ELHS.
  
• Lansing is too quick to tear down its history in the name of "progress". I still cannot even believe some of the demolitions that have occurred in that town. They tore down the Michigan Theater, leaving the city with no downtown venues for movies or live music. They tore down two whole blocks of historic commercial buildings along Michigan Avenue as recently as the last 5-7 years. The first was for the Stadium District, the second was for apartments on Michigan Avenue where Emil's used to be across from Green Door. They tore down the historic Lansing City Market. All of these except the theater were torn down for shoddy apartment complexes by Pat Gillespie. It's criminal.
  
• They do not attract nationally touring music acts of any small to medium size since the only real venue they have is Wharton Center on the MSU campus. I was constantly driving to Grand Rapids or Detroit for live music. It is a major quality of life issue and actually shocking given that they have a campus of 45,000 college students.