Roody

Maybe less dicey if the real estate market is suddenly flooded with cleared land, as is happening here with the abandoned auto plants.

cooker

I agree that will bring the prices down somewhat, but that impact will be quickly displaced onto other, less desireable locations, as those people try to "trade up" into the new development.

cooker

Mind, you it's still a good idea to build medium to high density, non-upscale housing here. Better municipal tax base, lower service costs, better quality of life, revitalized city core, blah, blah, blah.

I-Like-To-Bike

There's nothing new about such gentrification. Society Hill in Philadelphia, near Independence Hall was redeveloped in the 50's and early 60's. Walking distance or easy public transit to Center City, shops, theater, etc. Lots of moneyed empty nest folk bought in, even some young professionals, who usually headed for the suburbs as soon as their kids were old enough to enter the local public schools or associate with the local gentry. Or had their first dozen bikes or hot wheels stolen from in front of their house. Families with children of school age and the money to make choices were scarce as hen's teeth and I assume still are for the same reasons.

Roody

I suspect that the main reason rich folk with kids don't want to live in Lansing has more to do with the lousy schools than with the crime rates.

Roody

The land in picture number one is in a nice location on the banks of the Grand River. However, it's right next to a large power plant and adjacent to the auto plant that's still operational. So I don't know how desirable this area will be for housing, low- or high-income. I think it's anybody's guess.

Roody

Great rail access. Most cars are shipped by rail, ironically.

I-Like-To-Bike

You don't think "lousy schools" and crime rates are correlated? And I don't define rich folk as having sufficient income or future prospects to afford decent housing in the suburbs in most areas. Though it may take that to afford recent ownership of housing in gentrified areas. Ideal for well-off empty nesters.

Platy

A singularly unfortunate name for a real estate project! REO is a common banking acronym for "Real Estate Owned" which is foreclosed properties that have reverted to a bank and must be gotten off the books as quickly as possible.

wahoonc

Tell me about it! I looked at a loft apartment in Greenville, SC about 5 years ago, it has almost tripled in value in those 5 years. They have 2 downtown mixed use buildings in the planning stages and they are almost sold out.

Aaron

mwrobe1

Isn't the appropriate question, "What should GM do?" I mean...since its their land and all.

Just sayin...unless GM has already sold the land to the city of Lansing; then it IS more of a matter of "we" in a civil sense.

Possesion is 4/5 of the law.

Platy

What you say is true, but there is still a civic and public policy dimension to large scale real estate development.

cooker

If GM wants to sell the property, it's likely the next owner will be coming to the city with some zoning request, so the city has to decide what uses to permit.

Alekhine

Sorry about your nose and the spilt milk becnal! I saw Roody's thread title and just couldn't resist the Python reference.

Wogster

Possession is actually 9/10 of the law, but land is a little different. The land is probably zoned heavy industrial, right now. There is probably a fair bit of petroleum and heavy metals contamination of the soil there. You could probably rezone it for light industrial, warehousing, possibly even some commercial use, but residential would require a site cleanup, which can be a long and expensive process.


There are three things GM can do

1) Leave the land empty, with the idea that if they need more plant capacity, in the future they can build new plants there, in the mean time, taxes on an empty lot are considerably less, then on occupied land.

2) Cleanup the land and then sell it off, would make the most cash, and give the new owner(s) the most zoning flexability.

3) Sell the land, and leave cleanup to the new owner(s).

In the cases of selling the land, it could go to a single owner, or several smaller ones. While you could provide a car free village there as part of the city, in a very nice and affordable little area, with it's own residences, commercial and light industrial applications, I expect this ideal will go out the window almost immediately. Not when they can build a huge Home Despot, an even bigger Walwart and lots of plaza style outlet stores where a $5 item costs $45, nothing will be accessable from the street and 90% of the property will be parking lot.

Artkansas 

Obviously you haven't been watching the laws lately. Eminent Domain laws could snatch that land up in a heartbeat.

What you might try is for a "Central Park" Big public parkland bordered by high-rise plush condos. Thats a plan that should get the city drooling.

Or, maybe you can put in some new factories and create jobs. Maybe Toyota or Hyundai might be interested.

ModoVincere

Eminent domain is the bain of any society that values individual rights.
I would hate to see a city step in and take over this land to build a park for the public at the expense of others like that. If that can be done to GM, then it can be done to your house, or apartment, or whatever. Its basically one step away from mob rule.

Platy

Well, let's face it, there's zero real chance of any car light development in that place, at this time. However, every journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This thread is one step. We have a half dozen people talking in public about car light development. One step down, 999.9996 miles to go.

Roody

I think it's already gone a little farther than you think. Many city planners are talking about "cool cities" and livable cities" and "sustainable development." This is not exactly carfree or car light, but the next best thing.

City planners sound like they just read "the Life and Death of American Cities" by Jane Adams, even though it was published 45 years ago and has never been out of print.

I lived over a bakery in REOtown. My landlord said he couldn't get his other 4 apartments licensed because the zoning laws didn't allow mixed res/commercial development. That law was changed when REOtown started, and now there are apartments and "lofts" above the stores all up and down S. Washington Ave. This is exactly what Adams was talking about in her book so many years ago, and it's a great location for carfree living..

Roody

You hit the nail on the head. At some point it will be a public decision.

One confusing thing is GM's actions so far. In the past, they've left abandoned plants standing for years. Here in Lansing, they've started deconstructing them within months of closure. WHY?

wahoonc

Public liability? Or to get them off the tax rolls? Just a couple of guesses.

Aaron