Schor scraps Masonic Temple for new city hall location, to announce new location

LANSING — The plan to build a new Lansing city hall in the former Masonic Temple has been scrapped, and the structure will now be proposed at a Grand Avenue parking lot across from CATA's downtown transportation center.

The city in a release said Mayor Andy Schor is expected to announce Thursday the location where a new city hall will be built "using the $40 million in funding appropriated by the state of Michigan."

Schor plans to share his proposal at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the location he's now envisioning for city hall, Lot 1, a largely unused city parking lot at 425 S. Grand Ave. That side had been considered for a Capital Area Transportation Authority headquarters in recent weeks.

The plan marks the apparent defeat of Schor's plans to house city hall inside the Masonic Temple. A 4-4 split council and the mayor have been at odds over the Masonic proposal. Half of the council asked for the process to restart with new bids. The mayor responded by saying it had been properly bid out to the Boji Group.

The state's $40 million appropriation took the project from a pipe dream to reality, and the money will be able to be used for the new plan, according to the statement.

Scott Bean, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the project would be developed by the Boji Group.

Councilmember Ryan Kost, who opposed the Masonic plan, said he is supportive of the new city hall plan since it would be built to the right size, rather than having extra space for potentially others, and it would be built on city-owned land rather than buying a new property. The city had planned to lease a portion of the revamped Masonic Temple to the Lansing School District.

The current city hall is in bad shape after years of neglected maintenance, which has led to frequent problems including minor flooding on some upper floors earlier this year. The city hopes to sell the current city hall to a developer, potentially for a new hotel.

Unlike the Masonic plan, which would convert an existing building, the latest city hall plan would call for new construction.

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Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Schor scraps Masonic Temple for new city hall location, to announce new location