2025: Development is the main course, with plenty of sides

The new year will be one of transition.

Look for a noisy, dusty downtown Lansing as winter moves into spring groundbreaking weather. New Vision Lansing, which city leaders hope will kickstart downtown’s revitalization, promises to turn the first shovel of dirt on its 27-story apartment high rise along the Grand River, destined to be mid-Michigan tallest structure. The city will bust up the asphalt of one of its parking lots to launch work on a new city hall. The Ovation Center for Music and Arts will take shape with the guiding architectural hand of Detroit’s acclaimed Albert Kahn Associates. And those are just the bigger projects in the principal shopping district.

Look for demolition as well. Lansing will likely shed itself of its biggest eyesore, the old Walter Neller Building, red-tagged since 2016. Alas, it may well also lose a landmark: old Eastern High School, three years shy of 100. Owner University of Michigan Health-Sparrow gives no sign of relenting on plans to level it for a psychiatric facility.

Those development projects and others will undoubtedly be local history’s headlines when we look back on 2025 — a year of rebuilding for our community. What else is on the horizon these coming 12 months? Tyler Schneider prognosticates below in an over view so dominated by development that it proved best to divide his piece into two sections: Development and All the rest.

Happy New Year. 

DEVELOPMENT

CATA

In September, the Capital Area Transportation Authority purchased a former Greyhound Bus station, 511 S. Washington Ave., for $1 million with the intent of renovating it into its new administrative center. CATA plans to start construction as early as spring, with a tentative grand opening date in early 2026.

City Rescue Mission

City Rescue Mission director Mark Chriss expects his team to move into its new $9.5 million homeless shelter expansion project starting in July. The local Christian nonprofit is renovating an adjacent pair of office buildings at 415 and 421 W. Kalamazoo St. into a single, 37,000-square-foot shelter to double the mission’s capacity by accommodating up to 300 single adult guests nightly.

Grand River Assembly plant

In July 2024, the U.S. Energy Department awarded General Motors a $500 million grant to equip Lansing’s Grand River Assembly plant with the capacity to manufacture electronic vehicles. The move, bolstered by additional GM investments, is expected to preserve 650 jobs. However, the project’s future could be in jeopardy after President-elect Donald Trump and incoming Vice President JD Vance floated the possibility of pulling back those funds.

Lansing Housing Commission

A $23 million Lansing Housing Commission project is up in the air after the City Council denied a 5% PILOT tax incentive request in September. The two-building development includes Riverview 220, featuring seven market-rate apartments and 55 units for low-income residents on South Kalamazoo Street. The second, at Grand Vista Place, would add 55 subsidized units off Grand Avenue.

Macotta Club

Downtown Lansing Inc. announced plans for a 20,000-square-foot, multi-business food hall in the Knapp’s Centre called the Macotta Club in April 2023. DLI had planned on opening the 300 S. Washington Sq. property by the end of 2024, but it was postponed to this summer. The price tag has grown from $4 million to more than $8 million. When it opens, the DLI team plans to have six full restaurants operating from their own storefronts. The shared food hall will also feature 10 additional “food concepts,” including five food trucks and a full-service bar.

Michigan Avenue construction

The city aims to complete its $14 million Michigan Avenue Rehabilitation Project, weather permitting, this fall. Work resumes in March after a winter hiatus. When it’s done, the stretch from Pennsylvania Avenue to Detroit Avenue will be four lanes instread of five and feature expanded sidewalks, bike lanes, updated traffic signals and water main and utility upgrades.

MSU Multicultural Center

Michigan State University’s $38 million Multicultural Center is set to open Monday (Jan. 13) on the northeast corner of North Shaw Lane and Farm Lane. Designed as a space for minority students, the site will offer multi-purpose spaces, offices, a living room and adjacent outdoor amenities. A ribbon-cutting event is planned for Feb. 7.

New Vision Lansing

An ambitious $317 million, five-building, 575-unit housing project from the Gentilozzi family got the green light in 2024. Armed with a $40 million state grant and recently approved brownfield tax credits, the development team is set to break ground on the 27-story, 292-unit Tower on Grand, 215 S. Grand Ave., this month. Other entries are the 80-unit Capitol Tower, 201 N. Walnut St., 80 more units at 1223 Turner St. in Old Town, 60 units in a repurposed building at 100 S. Washington Square and 25 units in an old office building at 116 W. Ottawa St.

The Ovation

After some delays, construction by Freund and Associates will likely start in March on the city’s $28 million Ovation Center for Music and Arts, an entertainment venue at the corner of Washington Square and Lenawee Street downtown. The Albert Kahn Associates-designed building will feature a concert space with standing-capacity for 2,205, a black-box theater and possibly a rooftop restaurant in 68,000 square feet. The grand opening is targeted for fall 2026. Staff can expect to move into a rehabbed empty building next door this summer, which will also house the Lansing Public Media Center. 

Potter Park Zoo

Potter Park Zoo received $10 million from the state in 2024 to renovate its 1930-built Feline and Primate Building. A bid for designs and proposals will be issued soon, with more extensive plans expected by summer.

Verlinden plant

Groundbreaking should occur in March or April, weather permitting, on restoring the old General Motors Fisher Body Plant site on Lansing’s west side. In January, state legislators allocated $18.9 million from an $87.5 million pool. Mayor Andy Schor and Lansing Economic Development Corp. president Karl Dorshimer believe the site could likely become a manufacturing hub for electronic vehicle parts. The project represented the largest of 18 recipients of the state’s Strategic Site Readiness Program, a grant initiative to help repurpose large sites to attract investment. Also known as the old Verlinden plant — a 57-acre parcel that once featured the longest-operating automobile factory in the country before closing in 2005 — the site was almost completely demolished in 2007. The funds will help remove underground contaminants and address structural issues to prepare the site for redevelopment this year.

Walter J. French

This year, the former Walter J. French Junior High School, 1900 S. Cedar St., will open as a 176,000-square-foot mixed-use facility with 76 affordable rental units for low-income families, a childcare center with capacity for more than 100 children and the new headquarters of the Capital Area Housing Partnership. The $35 million project, which broke ground in June 2023, was funded by federal funds, the Michigan Economic Development Corp.’s Revitalization and Placemaking Program, the Ingham County Housing Trust Fund and private donations.

Walter Neller Building

A 25,000-square-foot building at 122 S. Grand Ave. that’s been red-tagged for safety concerns since 2016 is finally set to come down in March after City Council approved a make-safe-or-demolish order in December. Owner Granger Developers has indicated having plans for a development but hasn’t revealed details.

Wheel District

Work on Harry Hepler’s new apartment complex Prudden Wheel Cottages, will continue through 2025 after breaking ground last year. The project will repurpose a 70,000-square-foot factory building at 700 May St., between Oakland Avenue and Saginaw Street, as 133 one-bedroom apartments by 2026 that for up to $1,195 per month, with no utility fees, thanks to a series of environmentally progressive solar, wind and water collection and storage units on the roof. To secure funding, Hepler persuaded the Lansing City Council to list the area as a Neighborhood Enterprise Zone last year. The designation freezes property taxes for 12 years on property from Saginaw to the south, the CSX Railroad track to the west, Oakland to the north and Pennsylvania Avenue to the east. Another project, consisting of 240 condominiums at the corner of Pennsylvania and Saginaw, should also be done by 2028, he added.

ALL THE REST

Lansing mayor, clerk and City Council elections

Lansing’s elected positions will be on the primary and general election ballots. Mayor Andy Schor is expected to pursue a third term, and no challengers have announced, though south Lansing Council member Adam Hussain has been mentioned. The terms of Council President and 2nd Ward representative Jeremy Garza, 4th Ward member Brian Jackson and at-large members Jeffrey Brown and Peter Spadafore are all set to expire. The only at-large challenger who has announced is candidate Julie Vandenboom, who missed being elected to the Charter Commission by a hair. Brown has the biggest target on his back after angering the establishment for his role in unraveling Schor’s plan to convert the landmark Masonic Temple building into a new city hall.

Moores Park Pool

Moores Park Pool, the historic 1922 city-owned property at 420 Moores River Drive, ceased operations in 2019 due to structural problems. In 2023, state legislators allocated $6.2 million to restore it, leading to a bidding process that brought Rhino Recreational Construction onboard to revitalize the site. Work began this summer, and the pool is expected to be reopened by 2026.

Eastern High School

The University of Michigan Board of Regents has yet to act on a plan to tear down UM Health-Sparrow-owned Eastern High School for a $97-million, 120-bed psychiatric hospital. Opponents continue to urge preserving as much of the building as possible.

Lansing Art Gallery

The Lansing Art Gallery says it will remain open after having temporarily closed for the month of September due to financial problems. It reports slashing monthly expenses from $20,000 to $6,000 after its executive director quit and most staff was laid off. Board President Rachel Beatty said she’s effectively assumed temporary executive director duties, while 17 volunteers have joined the team. A 60th anniversary celebration is in the works for this year, which she hopes will bring more attention to the gallery’s struggles.

Ave Maria Radio

Ann Arbor-based Catholic radio giant Ave Maria Radio is awaiting word from the Federal Communications Commission on a controversial application to buy Charlotte-based WLCM-AM, Jon Yinger’s Christian Broadcasting System, for $250,000. The purchase should be finalized early this year, a station manager at WLCM-AM said. Ave Maria Radio vice president Dave Vacheresse said the station would become the network’s 11th, with the capacity to reach 550,000 mid-Michigan listeners. When City Pulse broke the news in June that Ave Maria was looking to expand, some former listeners cited concerns that it would only further the spread of a movement known as “charismatic Catholicism,” which one source said includes “speaking in tongues, prophecies and the laying of hands.” Another former listener tied the movement to “spiritual abuse, lies and cover-ups.” Ave Maria president Mike Jones urged those critics to reach out to him to discuss their concerns.

Accessory Dwelling Units

Lansing’s City Council is expected to consider revising the city’s zoning code to allow for accessory dwelling units. Also known as “granny flats,” an ADU is defined by the city as a single, detached, secondary residence built in a garage or other standalone structure on a single-family property. An October public hearing saw 22 speakers support the proposal, but advocate Joan Nelson said the Council delayed action through early 2025 “because they wanted to make sure all the members had a chance to review the entire plan.” Nonetheless, she’s optimistic it will be approved.

Jwan Randle suspension

As the year begins, no developments have been made public in the case of Jwan Randle, a logistics chief with the Lansing Fire Department who was suspended in April for alleged credit card fraud and use of a city vehicle and cell phone for personal business. Randle is still listed as an employee on the city website, and city spokesperson Scott Bean declined to provide any updates.