EYE SORE OF THE WEEK

Owners: FMM Bushnell Great Lakes LLC (930) and Vernon J. Andrews (1001-1003)

Assessed values: $56,500 (930) and $148,100 (1001-1003)

Architecture critic Amanda Harrell-Seyburn says: An intersection is a microcosm of the community. But in the last 70 years, the intersection has become one of those places that people least want to be. They’ve grown car dominated and unfriendly to pedestrians. Yet intersections were and are the place for significant architecture — unlike these buildings at the corner of Mount Hope and Pennsylvania avenues that recoil, giving most prominence to the parking lots than anything else. Imagine how reshaping the architecture at this intersection could positively impact the adjacent neighborhoods. It’s time to rethink the intersection and the architecture that goes with it.

Once a fully occupied intersection, half of these four corners have gone silent. On the southwest corner, a former medical marijuana dispensary says it has moved to REO Town. An adjacent medical supplier has also left. A representative from Care Minder, the medical supplier, said an unresponsive property owner — which has an address in New York — forced the business to move.

On the northeast side, there appears to be a little life. Inside the former Grumpy’s Diner — once a spot for state legislators to hold meetings with constituents — contractors putting up new drywall declined to comment about the work being done. Vernon Andrews, who’s still listed as the property owner, said he sold it to developers of a medical clinic who are “working on it,” but couldn’t give specifics.

“Eyesore of the Week” is our look at some of the seedier properties in Lansing. It rotates each week with Eye Candy of the Week. If you have a suggestion, please e-mail eye@lansingcitypulse.com or call Andy Balaskovitz at 999-5064.