The saga of Oliver Towers

Eleven years is a long time to have a nearly empty building. Here’s a look at some of the delays that prevented development at Oliver Towers.

Built in 1968, the eight-story high-rise building served as subsidized housing for about 100 apartments for low-income senior citizens, but a fire on Feb. 6, 2000, badly damaged the facility and created numerous problems for the city.

The fire gutted the first floor and destroyed the fire and elevator systems, causing $250,000 worth of damages. After repairs, the Lansing Housing Commission was able to move into the first floor, but the apartments have remained vacant. The Housing Commission planned on selling the property to the city, but when it moved forward with a proposal in 2001 that would have replaced the building with a parking ramp for LCC, the city discovered it might already own the land. After years of attorney reviews, City Pulse reported in 2009 that both parties agreed the Housing Commission actually owned the site. However, current City Attorney Brig Smith said Tuesday that the city owns the land through the Housing Commission.

The federal government also has a stake in the property since the Housing of Urban Development Department contributed money to build the structure. The department holds a “deed of trust” for the property, meaning it had to agree on any plans for the building. HUD’s involvement also added the stipulation that the property had to be sold at market value, meaning it had to be appraised. 

Before the fire, the building was assessed at about $2.4 million. When the commission assessed it again in 2001, its value had dropped to $2 million. The commission wanted to create a senior citizen facility, but other area facilities offered more services, making the project obsolete.

Former Lansing Mayor David Hollister envisioned razing Oliver Towers and building a new, $22 million City Hall. City Hall would be sold to the state, becoming the site of a new Senate building comparable to the House of Representatives building a block north, but a lack of funds kept the project from starting.

In 2004, local developer Pat Gillespie wanted to develop the Towers into townhouses aimed at middle-to-high income professionals, but delays and rising costs made the venture too pricey.

In 2008, the Capital Area District Library proposed a new 0.96 mill tax levy to expand its library system. The project proposed building a new downtown library, as well as relocating the Impression 5 Science Center, to Oliver Towers, but the millage failed and neither entity had enough money to pursue the project further.

This prompted a collection of churches, lead by Justin Sleight of the Capital Area Faith Based Coalition, to push the city to use the building to house the homeless. Sleight proposed offering the city $3 million for the property, but he wanted to inspect it first to see how much renovation it would take to re-open the apartments. His request was not granted until December 2009 after a misplacement of the building’s insurance policy held up approval from the Housing Commission. The commission wasn’t sure if a private group could inspect the building. The proposal faded away.

Then, in May 2011, City Pulse reported that Councilman Brian Jeffries suggested selling the property to help “offset losses in police, fire and code enforcement officers.” The proposal was part of a package of budgetary ideas that Mayor Virg Bernero described as “gum drops, lollipops and pipe dreams.” The Council rejected them.