Eyesore of the Week

Monument to tragedy 123 N. Hayford Ave., Lansing

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The gray house with weathered plywood skirting its lower floor looms over Hayford Street. Three evergreens, overgrown and distorted, shroud the front of the former home at 123 N. Hayford on Lansing’s east side. The former home stands a testament to a tragic fire Nov. 4, 2013. That fire ravaged the downstairs, where the property’s owner James Leach, 65, was bedridden. He and his puppy,Trumpet, died in the fire. And while family tried to repair the home and sell it, city officials reported in a Dec. 6, 2017, meeting of the Lansing City Council Committee on Public Safety that they had given up and “walked away” from the house. It requires over $123,000 in repairs. The city has been authorized to tear the home down sometime this spring. It will leave an empty lot that city officials believe will eventually end up in the hands of the Ingham County Land Bank. Neighbors have expressed concerns to the city that the home was attracting animals and the backyard had become a hangout for local teens.

“Eyesore of the Week” is our weekly look at some of the seedier properties in Lansing. It rotates with Eye candy of the Week. If you have a suggestion, please e-mail eye@lansingcitypulse.com or call Berl Schwartz at 999-5061.

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