Lansing has a new mayor.
Andy Schor took his oath of office at noon today.
He’s the capitol city’s first new mayor in a dozen years.
Schor struck an optimistic tone in his inaugural address at the Lansing Center before hundreds of supporters and dignitaries.
“Excitement is in every corner of this city. People in Lansing our proud of our city and they are ready for change,” Schor told the crowd. “Like me, they believe Lansing is ready to take that next step. That Lansing’s time is now.”
Schor faces several issues as he takes office.
First up, a proposal to sell Lansing city hall to a Chicago developer that plans to turn the downtown building across from the state capitol into a hotel.
Mayor Schor says there are still issues to be decided.
“We have to figure out where the police building is going to go, where the courts are going to go, where the lock up is going to go,” Schor told reporters after his swearing in.
Schor hopes to wrap up work on the city hall sale proposal in the next few months, but he insists he’s not setting a firm deadline for completing the deal.
The new mayor also hopes to begin addressing Lansing’s long-term legacy costs. The city’s projected $680 million legacy costs have been the subject of ongoing study for the past several years.
