Music venue to breathe new life downtown at former gay club, hookah lounge
A new music venue is coming to downtown Lansing in a 100-year-old building at 224 S. Washington Square. The entire project, including the purchase and renovation, is estimated to cost just over $900,000.
Developers spending $900,000 for 6,000-square-foot site
FRIDAY, Jan. 21 – A new music venue is coming to downtown Lansing in a 100-year-old building at 224 S. Washington Square. The entire project, including the purchase and renovation, is estimated to cost just over $900,000.
RBM Properties proposed the renovation to the building. The Lansing Economic Development Partnership — LEAP — approved a $136,500 loan for the project. Kevin Meyer, a managing member of the company, is now co-owners of the building with Scott Bell. Both Meyer and Bell work as promoters for music festivals, such as Common Ground and Breakaway.
The city and state still need to approve a liquor license.
The building is the former home of a hookah lounge and was once a popular club spot. Club Paradise, which later became Club X-Cel, was a well-known gay bar during the 1990s. X-Cel nightclub was described on a Lansing bars webite as “young” and “fun,” offering “an atmosphere much closer to Chicago than to Lansing with a one-of-a-kind design.” The site was also a hip-hop venue remembered for multiple confrontations with the police.
The city assessor’s website lists a sale of the property Dec. 30, 2021. It says 1247 Center St. LLC sold the property to RBM Properties, LLC, for $300,000. It was formerly owned by Tom Donall, who owns Spiral Dance Club, 1247 Center St.
The 6,000-square-foot venue would fill a niche for a medium-sized venue, which are in short supply locally. It will accommodate general admission shows of 700 to 800 people, and no longer function as a nightclub, Bell confirmed. All genres of music would be welcome. Smaller events like weddings can utilize the space as well, as it will be available for rent.
The new owners plan to host more than 100 events every year, estimating that the venue will have an “impact at $10 million annually,” as reported by Fox 47.
In a phone call with City Pulse, Bell confirmed the already public information.
“Other than the publicly available quotes and data, we don’t have anything to add,” said Bell.
