Big city-style Harem nightclub is hitting the Michigan Avenue entertainment
scene. The club is the latest addition to the growing entertainment district known as the Stadium District , and the 10th bar or restaurant along the Michigan Avenue corridor between
Grand River and Pennsylvania Avenue.
According to excerpts from the article:
Next month, a new nightclub, Harem, will open at 414 E. Michigan Ave.
It will become the 10th bar or restaurant operating between the Grand
River and Pennsylvania Avenue along Michigan Avenue.
A handful more are within walking distance on Washington Square and other places.
And three more restaurants could join the mix later this year in first-floor space in the new $12.3 million Stadium District building.
"I
think people take downtown Lansing for granted and don't realize what a
cool entertainment district this is turning out to be," said Doug Johns
Jr., who owns Harem, The Exchange and Omar's.
"What's beautiful about it is the diversity and different types of venues down there."
Building
a wide variety of such venues, along with unique retail spots and
interesting cultural attractions, are seen as key indicators for a
successful downtown, said Karen Gagnon, coordinator of the state's Cool Cities urban redevelopment program for the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
"We're told in surveys young people - people of all ages want vibrancy," Gagnon said. "They want to have an experience."
In an April 2004 survey of university students and recent graduates by the Michigan Economic Development Corp., slightly more than half said their preferred place to live is near the downtown of a large- or medium-sized city.
Yet when choosing their preferred place, 93 percent of those surveyed said safe streets is the most important factor.
Read the entire article here.
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