As workers put the finishing touches on the stadium district building, like painting or loading appliances through windows, more and more businesses near Oldsmobile Park are popping up like hotcakes.

"People who haven't been downtown in a couple years are just awed by the changes," says Kevin Green, executive director of Lansing's Principal Shopping District organization. He says the Stadium District project was the shot in the arm Lansing needed to boost development.

"It was the tipping point or a trigger or catalyst for a lot of developemts that are in the pipelines that will come out in the next couple of years," Green says.

"The more the merrier," says David Farhat. Farhat oversees construction on the Gillespie Group's Stadium District building. He welcomes the thought of additional businesses and mentions the retail that's filling in below the new condos and apartments-- of which 50 percent are already sold.

"We have a coffee shop, a 5/3 Bank, Briarwood Realty opening up," he lists.

Mayor Virg Bernero says millions of dollars in Stadium District investments will soon turn into hundreds of millions of dollars as development expands, including the new Accident Fund headquarters.

"I think development will now expand towards the river," Bernero says. "I look to find a day where there'll be water taxis."

"People are giving the downtown a second look," says Green.

It's a look that will likely be different yet for opening days to come.