Lansing’s mayor is putting the sale of city hall “on hold”.
Last year, former Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero picked Chicago-based Beitler Real Estate Services over three other developers, to turn Lansing city hall into a new hotel.
Lansing officials settled on the idea of selling city hall, since the estimated $55 million cost of renovating the aging building would be cost prohibitive.
But new Lansing Mayor Andy Schor has put that project on hold, until a decision is made over what to do with the district courts and city jail that are not part of the plan for the new city hall.
“The decisions we make today will affect Lansing for 50 years or more, and we must prioritize courts and the lock-up before we can make decisions on relocation,” Schor says in a written statement.
Schor is floating the idea of a regional solution to the problem. That may include combining the Lansing District Court with the Ingham County Circuit Court and combining some jail facilities. The city is planning to meet with regional stakeholders to discuss the feasibility of working together.
