It was a big—perhaps even tipping point—year for downtown Lansing development. Here’s CG's quick and subjective rundown of a few of the projects we think made a difference in 2007.
Ottawa Power StationBack in 1998, a Chicago developer proposed a multi-screen theater and entertainment complex. It was later suggested as a potential home for the state’s information technology department.
No plan or scheme seemed to work, and the downtown
Lansing Board of Water and Light Ottawa Power Station, sitting vacant on the banks of Grand River since 1992, remained the building that “confounded every developer and politician who's ever dreamed of its redevelopment,” as NPR's
Morning Edition put it in 2006.
Until finally, in the quiet, waning days of 2007, on a cold December day, a crane removed the prominent stack tacked atop the massive historic 1939 Art Deco icon.
Lansing's skyline changed, and a new era for the downtown Lansing riverfront dawned.
After months of behind-the-scenes negotiations and deal-making and old-fashioned hard work by city staff,
Accident Fund Insurance Company of America announced in late 2007 that it would be moving its national headquarters to the old Lansing power plant.
The company could have gone anywhere, with a workforce expected to grow by 500 employees to a total of 1,200 in the next several years.
But they decided to not only stay downtown, but to make a massive commitment to remake one of the city’s most visible landmarks.
The announcement, and the $182 million commitment to make it a reality, marked a historical moment for many who had come to view the majestic power plant as both an icon and challenge to the city’s burgeoning downtown rebirth.
“Accident Fund will preserve a downtown landmark while transforming it into an exciting state of the art business camp,” says Accident Fund President, Elizabeth Harr. “This redevelopment will be a catalyst to a strong, revitalized downtown and the Lansing community.”
Stadium District and BeyondIt wasn’t there at the beginning of 2007.
And now it is, with its hefty four stories evoking memories of late nights spent prowling for a parking space among the cozy brownstones of Chicago’s Wrigleyville, and its ground-floor windows promising bustling street life at all hours of the day.
Yes, developer Pat Gillespie’s $15 million
Stadium District development stands tall along Michigan Avenue in Downtown Lansing, lending the run-up to the Capitol an air of ageless, big city inevitability.
Nearly all of the structure's 25,000 feet of retail space on the first floor is already committed to folks like
Fifth Third Bank,
Briarwood Realty, and a coffee shop. The
Lansing Chamber of Commerce will occupy much of the second floor. The fourth floor will feature 20 loft condos, with high-end rental apartments ranging from $800 to $1,200 a month filling the rest of the building.
The five potential buyers that were shown the high-end condos purchased them on the spot, says Gillespie, whose development group won the “2007 Large Community Redevelopment Project of the Year Award” from the
Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) for the project. The Gillespie Group, which started the project in late 2006, expects to finish by April 2008.
And the success of the project has encouraged Gillespie to expand north of the stadium, as well, with The Ballpark North and Market Place proposals for two six-story, 120,000 square foot office buildings overlooking the baseball stadium, and an adjacent $24 million development with two residential towers, a 10,000 square foot commercial property on the river, and an entertainment park.
The plan encompasses the
Lansing City Market, which Gillespie proposes to redesign and move closer to the riverfront. The mixed use building on the river envisions boat slips, bike rentals and kayak rentals.
Nothing like a little success to go to a guy’s head.
Green BuildingThe rain gardens now lining Michigan Avenue are visible; the underground environmental benefits to Lansing’s long-neglected waterways are harder to spot.
Similarly, leading Lansing developers like Gene Townsend and Harry Hepler are quietly pushing the envelope of Lansing’s infant Green Building movement.
Townsend, riding high on the success of his $4 million, LEED-certified
Printer’s Row development – chock full of green design elements like cellulose insulation and no-VOC paints—announced two more big green projects at the close of 2007.
The first is the $13 million, environmentally friendly development project nicknamed the “Kalamazoo Gateway,” destined for a small 1.3 acres parcel at the corner of Kalamazoo Street and Cedar Street. The mixed use building will include 43 residential units, parking, commercial space and a walkway that will act as a gateway to the
Lansing River Trail.
Townsend envisions the new development linking the
Eastside,
Southside and
REO Town to
Downtown’s economic center, and the Lansing Board of Water and Light, with headquarters across the street from the development site, will help develop a new entrance to the River Trail.
The second is an impressive plan to put up a $12 million, LEED-certified mixed-use development on 5.6 acres near the Hall of Justice in downtown. Plans include 65 new condos and flats that will sell at prices that are attractive to different economic groups. Emulating some of the strategies of the
Genesee Gardens Co-housing project Townsend helped nurture on Lansing’s Westside, all of the units will encircle a community park.
Townsend hopes to break ground on both projects in the spring of 2008.
Harry Hepler’s massive
Motor Wheel Lofts project just north of downtown, with final units that came online back in early 2007, took the recycling ethic to the max, preserving the unique qualities of the old 1916 factory building while creating 119 fully-leased, energy efficient living spaces and adjacent commercial space.
The old building's 13-foot ceilings, massive windows and concrete floors added to the green challenge, says Hepler, of H. Inc. The project also uses low-flow toilets, energy efficient appliances, and argon-gas filled windows.
Such green features were among the most exciting for Motor Wheel resident and building manager, Lauren McLennan, who also points out the on-site recycling facilities and recycled-fiber carpeting.
“My sister in Seattle is jealous of me living here,” McLennan tells
Capital Gains. “She told me that if this building were here four years ago, she would have stayed in Lansing. She’s paying so much more for a bland apartment. And she loves my appliances. My whole family is jealous of my appliances.”
“I like living in a green building and in a place that I feel good about,” says fellow resident Steve Purchase.
And the fact that “the place” for many like him was increasingly downtown Lansing in 2007 is something we can all celebrate.
Brad Garmon is managing editor of Capital Gains
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of
Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Harry Hepler’s Motor Wheel Lofts project
Accident Fund Insurance companies future headquarters building
The Ballpark North project
Proposed redesign of the City Market and riverfront
New downtown rain gardens
Kalamazoo Gateway project
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie