Demolition resumes at former Lansing hospital following asbestos discovery

The demolition of the former McLaren Penn Campus, already 25% demolished, is restarting this week a months-long halt.

State environmental regulators have approved a revised plan to resume asbestos abatement at a stalled hospital demolition site in the south of Lansing, following a months-long shutdown triggered by air quality violations and neighborhood safety complaints.

According to state filings on June 29, contractor Asbestos Abatement Inc. is scheduled for a new phase of hazardous material removal at the former McLaren Penn Campus starting Monday, July 13, with work projected to run through Aug. 28. 

The work will target an estimated 20,000 square feet of material using mechanical grinding and water suppression systems. 

The site at 2727 S. Pennsylvania Ave. has sat roughly 25% demolished since last year, when operations were halted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy.

Jeremy Brown, EGLE senior environmental quality analyst and asbestos inspector for the Air Quality Division, said he believes concerns about air quality are being managed. 

The July 13 demolition will be closely monitored, he said. 

“The residents are not in harm,” Brown said. “There will be dust during demolition, but the goal is to keep it knocked down enough so it doesn’t leave the property.

“Everything has been cleaned up since I issued the violation. They had that cleaned up in pretty short order and had cleaned up one part of the building where they had stopped demolition. It was in a condition that no one could safely go into that area. The debris got hauled away and then additional testing and sampling was conducted. They had to come up with a new work plan.”

City of Lansing officials said it is good to see the project is picking back up. 

“The city is tremendously excited to see this site get cleared and made ready for future development. It’s really a fantastic location and we look forward to seeing what can become of this property,” Scott Bean, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office.

“We would certainly like to see McLaren work with their demolition contractor to ensure the site is properly secured. Neighbors are encouraged to call the Lansing Police non-emergency line if they see people trespassing in the demolition site.”

Road to demolition

The state intervention followed a December 2025 investigation by EGLE. Inspectors discovered site operators had left four massive debris piles containing metal beams with asbestos-containing spray-on insulation that were uncovered and exposed to wind, rain and snow. 

Regulators said the contaminated material had remained dry and exposed for over three weeks, creating visible emissions and causing soil contamination, Brown said. 

On Dec. 18, 2025, EGLE issued a formal violation notice to Michael Suty of Asbestos Abatement Inc. and Dan Rooney of Kramer Management Group, representing property owner McLaren Healthcare, according to state documents. 

The state cited the companies for three federal violations under the National Emission Standard for Asbestos, including failure to adequately wet asbestos waste material and failure to dispose of the material in a timely manner. 

Under federal law, both the property owner and the operator share liability for the violations.

The state shutdown came after persistent complaints from nearby residents who reported heavy plumes of dust drifting into surrounding residential blocks.

Patrick Cooper, a nurse practitioner living two houses from the property, told a Lansing City Pulse reporter that dust suppression was virtually nonexistent during the initial teardown phase.

He recalled one day in particular when the dust was thick and covering his block. 

“I just noticed it was a windy day and huge clouds of filth were blowing into our neighborhood,” Cooper said. “They had one person out there with a garden hose who wasn’t even really very close to where the demo was actually happening… it wasn’t doing anything.”

Facebook video of demolition here 

While contractors eventually covered and removed the initial contaminated debris piles, the main structure remained untouched through the winter and spring, turning the uncompleted demolition into a neighborhood security hazard, Cooper said.

He witnessed daily trespassing, noting that scrappers routinely cut openings in the perimeter chain-link fence to strip metals from inside the building.

Cooper said the situation escalated when a vehicle loaded with suspected stolen scrap emerged from the woods and drove directly across Scott Woods Park where his children were playing.

“My partner and kids were down in the park, and a truck actually drove out from this huge hole in the fence that’s a little bit hidden by the woods,” Cooper said. “It just freaked my kids out.” 

His children, ages 9 and 11, now refuse to play at the park, he said.

Dave Jones, marketing manager, media relations for McLaren Health Care released this statement for McLaren Greater Lansing:

“McLaren is committed to being a responsible community partner, and we understand and appreciate the concerns raised by our fellow community members residing near the hospital’s legacy campus. Throughout all abatement activities, McLaren hired an experienced and reputable consultant, Triterra, to conduct air monitoring for the workers and surrounding areas to ensure all activities met regulatory requirements. Notably, all air monitoring results remained within acceptable limits,” the statement reads. 

“During demolition and throughout the work stoppage, Triterra deployed two to three dust monitors around the site to measure nuisance dust and activated mitigation strategies. All recorded data was within acceptable limits.”

The statement goes on to say that air monitoring will “resume when activity continues at the site.” 

“Upon the identification of asbestos on the structure’s steel beams, Triterra returned to the site to establish daily air monitoring along the fence line until the removal of all potentially airborne particulates. All samples remained within acceptable limits. Above all, it is our goal and the goal of our partners to finish this project in the safest manner possible, with the anticipation that demolition will be completed by the end of the year.”

For the families living along the perimeter of the complex, the upcoming resumption of work brings a mix of relief and anxiety.

“Obviously I’d rather it be taken care of safely,” Cooper said. “I don’t want those huge clouds of death coming in and poisoning our neighborhood, our kids, and stuff, so yeah, you know, I’m just, I’m hoping it gets taken care of carefully.”