The interior of Hubbard Hall at Michigan State University is undergoing a $3 million renovation. The project on the 12 story building—the tallest on MSU's campus—is being managed by Triangle Associates, Inc. out of Grand Rapids.

"The Hubbard C-Store is outdated," says Triangle President Mitch Watt. The new Hubbard Hall will feature an open-air Sparty's Retail Store, which will include lounge space. The new store will be a hybrid of a small diner and a convenience store similar to a 7-11.

The north lounge will be separated into four areas for studying, lounging, dining and gaming. The south lounge will have more of a studying focusing, and features a quiet area for studying, as well as rooms for group meetings. Watt says the plan is to make Hubbard the "number one venue" on campus for students to spend their time.

Hubbard will be repainted and have its flooring replaced, giving the building a fresh, updated look.

Triangle is also renovating MSU's Case Hall. The contract for the two projects is around $20 million. Triangle had previously worked on Owen Hall for MSU.

The renovated Hubbard Hall will reopen this coming fall.

Source: Anne Rothwell, Mitch Watt, Brent Gibson at Triangle

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

Bikeworks, a new bike shop, has opened in DeWitt at 13169 Schavey Rd., in the DeWitt Shopping Center. Owner Jon Vandecar opened the 2,000 sq. ft. shop on Mar. 15.

"The space was gutted, walls moved and ceiling opened up," says Vandecar. "All new lighting and display fixtures [were] custom built."

Vandecar had been in the bicycle industry for more than 20 years before deciding to open his own shop.

"The DeWitt area has always seemed like an active youthful, and family oriented community that could support a small bike shop," says Vandecar, who enjoys the diversity of bicycling. "Being in the industry this long I have moved around from every facet of the sport, from racing BMX, to extended multi-day touring and mountain biking. Your options are endless."

Bikeworks features kiosks to aid customers in their decision-making.

"I made the displays distinct from most others by using kiosks to help customers understand what each category of bike is designed for and grouped the bikes accordingly," says Vandecar.

Bikeworks features a free seminar at 7:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of every month.

The new shop also stays away from the "sea of bikes" featured in other stores. "We have a great selection, it is just organized, displayed and explained easily," says Vandecar.

Source: Jon Vandecar

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

Delta Dental in Okemos (4100 Okemos Road) received an Environmental Stewardship award from Meridian Township last week. The award was in recognition of Delta Dental's environmental efforts as it adds a second building to its 57-acre campus.

The project broke ground in 2008 and will be completed in 2011. The total cost of the project will be between $80 million and $90 million.

In addition to a second building, the project includes a new data center and an expansion to the Delta Dental Pond, which is also the county drain. New plants and trees are being added to rejuvenate the setting of the campus.

"Many people have seen our amazing new building rising from the ground during the past year, but that may have overshadowed some tremendous work that was accomplished at ground level, and below, with the renovated pond and county drain," says Ari B. Adler, communications administrator for Delta Dental of Michigan.

The new trees, flowers and grasses will take some time to grow in and complete the new look of the campus.

"Things will still look a little scruffy for a couple of years," says Adler, "but what you’ll see here after the plantings take hold will be well worth the wait."

Source: Ari B. Adler, Delta Dental

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

Photo: Becky Johns

A new addition is coming to Burchfield Park in Holt: a Children's Garden. "The garden will be 100 sq. ft. and [will be] located near the toboggan hill," says Megan Allen, a naturalist at Burchfield Park.

The garden will be comprised of three raised beds, 3 ft. by 8 ft. each, and two play structures. Allen says that each of the beds will have a theme. One is a "Tomato Soup" bed, featuring a variety of vegetables. Another is a Butterfly/Hummingbird bed with plants designed to attract flying and crawling fauna, such as fennel and dill. The third bed is for "Fantastic Blooms," with unique flowers like Bleeding Hearts and Chinese Lanterns.

The play structures will feature Russian Mammoth sunflowers, which can grow up to 12 ft. in height, snapdragons and even edible nasturtiums.

Allen says the total cost of the garden will be less than $100, with most of that cost going toward seeds and tools.

"All the wood for the structures is reclaimed wood from around the park, and nearly all the soil and fertilizer have been donated by great community organizations such as the Get Mint Trading Company, Sundance Riding Stables, [and] the Greater Lansing Food Bank's Garden Project."

Source: Megan Allen

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

Changes are coming to Michigan State University's Case Hall, home to the James Madison College and to the Honors College. Upon completion, Case will handle the main food service options on the campus' south side. With the Skandalaris Football Center nearby, Case will be the main dining venue for athletes.

"We will be renovating [Case] extensively," says Mitch Watt, vice-president of Grand Rapids-based Triangle Associates, which will be providing construction management for the project. "There will be a focus on food service." Case Hall will feature a 30,000 sq. ft. refurbishment valued at $16 million.

Case Hall will receive an 8,000 to 10,000 sq. ft. addition in addition to a complete remodel. There will be six food service venues, including an all-you-can-eat buffet. Included in the plans are an 850-seat main seating area as well as a retail beverage outlet.

Triangle, in the role of construction manager, will oversee pre-construction, planning strategy and contracting duties.

"[We're] just finishing designs and they should be done by October," says Brent Gibson, a senior project manager.

This is not the first time MSU has hired Triangle for construction and renovation. “We did Owen Hall with success and they brought us back," says Gibson, and the Case Hall team is the same team that worked on that project.

Source: Anne Rothwell, Mitch Watt, Brent Gibson at Triangle

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

After months of building, moving and planning, the Lansing City Market is celebrating the grand opening of its new home this Saturday, April 24. The new 11,000 sq. ft. building had a soft opening on Jan. 9, which drew 1,500 to 2,000 people.

The total cost of the project was $1.59 million, and the new market building houses more than 30 local businesses. It features longer hours, staying open until 7:00 p.m. on weeknights, with longer weekday hours implemented in order to lure in customers on their way home from working Downtown. The weekly schedule was also overhauled, switching to a Tuesday through Saturday schedule.

The grand opening on Saturday will feature live music as well as cooking and gardening demonstrations. There will be activities to keep children entertained, including face-painting and pie-eating contests on the schedule.

The future holds even more for the new City Market, as a riverfront restaurant is in the works. The proposed restaurant would feature designated seating both inside and outside.

The new market is home to several new vendors, including Iorio Italian Ice, City Fish and Sgt's Soups and Sandwiches, to name only a few.

Source: Lansing City Market

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

An organic farm is coming to East Lansing. The farm would be located at The Beaumont, a property being developed by the Gillespie Group between Coolidge and Chandler Roads.

The farm "will start out small, with vegetables and flowers," says Darcy Schmitt, East Lansing's planning and zoning administrator. She describes it as a "franchise farming operation," and says the goal of the for-profit farm would be to sell its crop to local restaurants. Whatever produce is not sold will be donated to local food banks.

The farm would utilize about five acres of land near The Beaumont and "will be a great asset to the tenants," says Schmitt. The Beaumont features a mix of houses, condos and apartments.

Because the land was not originally zoned for agricultural use, Schmitt says the farm had to get the "go ahead from the [East Lansing] City Council," adding that the farm "will have the same restrictions as any agriculture practice in Michigan."

Schmitt says the farm wants to get going "as soon as possible" after the rezoning issue is resolved and "seeds have been purchased." School groups will be invited to the farm once it is up and running, for a hands-on learning experience.

Source: Darcy Schmitt

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

Life in Lansing, a website that promotes events and places around Lansing, has opened its own production studio.

The 1,600 sq. ft. space gives the Life in Lansing team a space to record video, audio and take photographs.

Marc Francoeur, one of the creators of Life in Lansing, describes the last few months as "busy, busy" and says that the website has been growing. He cites the addition of high school sports coverage behind the explosion in web traffic.

“High school sports has been huge. We had 4,000 hits one day,” says Francoeur. He adds that the average time visitors spend on the website is over five minutes.

The production studio is next to Francoeur's other business, MC Squared Technology Group, located in Okemos, and it features more than just studio space. "There is retail space in the front," where Francoeur says they will "sell locally produced things." The front retail space is about 25 ft by 15 ft. The rest of the location is used for the production studio.

The project “turned out better than expected," says Francoeur. "It looks like a real studio.” The rear of the studio will be used for podcast recording. Francoeur also says he has enough room for a live band and more than 30 audience members.

Source: Marcus Francoeur

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

Visitors to East Lansing's Beggar's Banquet may have noticed something was different since last August.

"We gave the place a face-lift," says Dana Kenney, general manager. "We repainted, knocked down a wall and updated the bar."

The crux of the renovation was knocking down the wall that divided up the main room by the bar. "We opened it up," says Kenney.

She compares entering the pre-renovation Beggar's to walking into a cave. Kenney says removing the wall allowed more space for patrons to mingle and made Beggar's "a better place to watch a game.

Kenney took over as general manager around the time of the renovation, a process that took less than two weeks. Since taking over, Kenney has brought in a new staff of over 30 people.

Reaction to the face-lift has been positive, even if it takes a minute or two for the change to sink in. "The funny thing is that people will walk in and say 'What's different?'"

"It does make [serving] easier," Kenney says of removed wall. "We're more efficient."

Beggar's recently added a brand new shuffleboard table and has more of a focus on craft beers, with 20 rotating beers on tap.

Source: Dana Kenney

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

As energy costs rise and the public demand for businesses to go green climbs, Dart Development Group has announced an ambitious lighting upgrade project. The project will upgrade all of the lighting in Dart Development Group's business parks, which are located in Lansing and Wixom.

"This is a huge cost savings," says Marsha Zimmerman, marketing manager for Dart Development Group. More than 3,500 light fixtures will be replaced between the two parks.

Offices and warehouse owned by Dart Development will both see changes. Three-bulb T-8s will brighten the offices from now on, while the warehouses will be outfitted with high-output, four-bulb T-5s.

In a press release, Dart Development says, "60% of the average commercial tenant's electric bill is due to lighting." The idea behind the upgrade is to not only conserve energy, but to save tenants money. Dart Development says the upgrade will save their tenants "an average of $0.14 per square foot."

Dart Development manages 1 million square feet of property in Michigan. Meter readers should notice a difference, as Dart Development says the lighting upgrade will save "an average of 1,120,672 kilowatt hours annually."

The lighting upgrade is part of the Dart Development Difference initiative, which is "seeking ways to improve an already quality product."

Source: Marsha Zimmerman

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

Baseball fans have something to cheer about: Fitzgerald Field, a ball diamond in downtown Grand Ledge, is being renovated.

"It hasn't been used much and has fallen into disrepair," says Kalmin Smith, Mayor of Grand Ledge, adding that more than two generations of Grand Ledge baseball players have used the diamond. The total cost of the project will be $19,930, with $14,950 of that amount coming from in-kind donations. The rest of the funds come from cash donations.

Smith says he was approached by two citizens involved in youth recreation in Grand Ledge about renovating the field. "Great idea," he told them, but city funds were tight. "So they said, 'What if we get volunteers?" Smith explains.

Smith told the pair that would work, but he wanted volunteers signed up, a budget and a time line. The pair came back with everything and the city began raising funds.

Baseball is an important part of Grand Ledge. "There is more interest [in baseball] here than in other places," says Smith.

The updated field, which will feature outfield irrigation, new fences and dugouts, will be the home field of the Pony Mustang Spring League and Grand Ledge City Recreation. The renovation should be completed by the end of April.

Source: Mayor Kalmin Smith

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

Due to budget issues, Lansing has had to close several of its golf courses, but thanks to First Tee of Mid-Michigan, the Sycamore Golf Training Center and Driving Range will remain open and save the city more than $65,000.

"The city was going to close it," says John Greenslit, executive director of First Tee Mid-Michigan. "We took it over."

First Tee of Mid-Michigan teaches golf to children age 7 to 17 and Greenslit says they focus on "at-risk kids," but they also "don't deny any youngsters."

Greenslit says that the non-profit's running of the training center and driving range will not involve any expense to the city.

Helping kids learn the game is not the only goal of First Tee of Mid-Michigan. Along with the four other chapters in Michigan, First Tee combines golf :with citizenship and nine core values," says Greenslit. Those values include honesty, sportsmanship and respect. "40 to 50 percent of our kids come back and re-enroll," he adds.

While First Tee of Mid-Michigan is responsible for maintenance and groundskeeping oat Sycamore, Greenslit empahsizes that "no one [with the city] has lost their job."

Both the training center and driving range are now open.

Source: John Greenslit, First Tee of Mid-Michigan

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan 

All Photographs © Dave Trumpie

Anyone who’s spent significant time in Downtown Lansing has at least mentioned the Knapp’s building, the iconic 1930s former department store located at 300 S. Washington.

After roughly eight years of vacancy, the Eyde Company, which owns the building, is attempting to restore the 190,000 squire foot structure—to the tune of $22 to $24 million
—and turn it into office space, retail space, apartments and a business incubator. A new restaurant is also a possibility.

“The Knapp’s Centre has been largely underutilized for the past 20 years,” says building developer Nick Eyde, who is the project manager for the development. “It’s steeped with history and is truly one of Lansing’s most beautiful and unique buildings. We’re thankful for the chance to finally put it back to prominent use.”

The project is contingent on the approval of more than $19 million in outside financing and tax breaks, but Mark Clouse, CFO and general council for the Eyde Company, says he’s confident the project will move forward with construction potentially beginning in the summer of 2011.

Clouse says the company has been working on the conception of the redevelopment for several years, but that the necessary pieces needed to renovate the building have fallen into place.

The recent Ignite 3.0 event at the Knapp’s emphasized resident interest in the renovation, he says.

“It showed us the amount of enthusiasm there is for the building and for being Downtown,” he says. “It did have an impact. It kind of solidified our willingness to make an investment.”

The first floor of the building is scheduled to be parking space. The incubator will take up an estimated 10,000 square feet of space. The upper floor is slated to be residential space. and the Eyde Company will move its 50 employees into new office space.

To read Capital Gains' previous article about the building's potential, click here.

Source: Josh Hovey, Rossman Group

Writer: Ivy Hughes

Bret Story, owner of the Mayfair Bar in Haslett, is planning to open a brand-new eatery on Shaw St. and Lake Lansing Rd.

"We're in the planning stages," says Story, who is working with Studio Intrigue Architects on the project.

The proposed eatery, which is unnamed at this time, has been approved by the Meridian Township Zoning Board of Appeals. The building will be 2,000 sq. ft., the largest size the ZBA would allow for the property, and will include a 1,000 sq. ft. deck outside.

The building and deck will face Lake Lansing and a Lake Lansing park. Story hopes to get construction underway soon, once the last few details with the Township are finalized. However, "we won't be open for summer," he acknowledges.

Once construction is complete, Story plans on hiring 20-25 employees, most of which will be part-time.

"It will looked like a Cape Cod fishing village on the outside," says Story, who hopes that, after a day of boating on the lake, customers will stop by for food and drinks.

While Story wants the new establishment to be linked to the Mayfair Bar, he plans for the two locations to be separate, unique entities. The new eatery will have a liquor license and will feature live entertainment.

Source: Bret Story

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

Long-time Dart Development Group tenant, Fitzgerald Henne & Associates have moved from Delhi Township into a new 6,000 sq. ft. office located within the City of Lansing. The company is still located within Oakwood Executive Park, one of Dart Development Group's properties.

"Our park has jurisdiction in Delhi Township and City of Lansing," says Marsha Zimmerman, marketing manager for Dart Development Group.

Fitzgerald Henne has been a tenant at the business park since 1999 and does contract work with the City of Lansing. "The city prefers that companies be located in the city to bid [on contracts]," says Zimmerman, which prompted Fitzgerald Henne to move.

Dart Development Group did not want to lose a long-time tenant, and Zimmman says "retaining a great relationship" with Fitzgerald Henne was vital, so a new office suite was built out. Zimmerman says the addition is "Class A office space," and includes extra windows, conference rooms and executive offices.

"We are pleased to move into the City of Lansing and remain in Oakwood Executive Park," Greg Minshall, president of Fitzgerald Henne says in a Dart Development Group press release.

Fitzgerald Henne moved into the space at 4063 Grand Oak Drive, Suite A109 on March 1.

Source: Marsha Zimmerman

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan

Lansing will be making community television a reality once again when a new community media center opens in July. "The city has formed an Office of Community Media," says Dominic Cochran, the office's director.

The center will move into a 4,000 sq. ft. space in the former Holmes Street Elementary School. Space will be allocated for edit suites, classrooms and a 1,000 sq. ft. space for green screen usage. The building will feature environmentally friendly geothermal heating and LED lighting.

"This isn't going to look like public access," says Cochran.

The new media center will feature state-of-the-art production equipment, and will be funded 100% by PEG (Public, Educational and Governmental) money from Comcast. PEG money is a fee each Comcast user pays as part of their bill each month. "[The funds] can only be spent on community media," says Cochran. "They can't be used on the city's budget."

The goal is to bring public access production back to Lansing. Comcast closed its public access studios in recent years.

Source: Dominic Cochran

Writer: Daniel J. Hogan