The city of Lansing is set to receive $40 million in state appropriations to go towards finding a new location for its City Hall building—a move that could revive proposals to convert the space into a hotel.
The state budget lawmakers approved last month included about $130 million allocated to Lansing spending projects, including funding for the restoration of Moores Park Pool and a new City Hall.
The current facility on Capitol Avenue was constructed in the 1950s. Mayor Andy Schor said it’s in poor condition, with the city spending more than $600,000 every year to maintain the building. He said renovating the space would cost about $70 million in repairs.
Schor says picking a new location to house Lansing's local government has been a longstanding priority.
“Mayors have been looking to get out of City Hall and to get into a new space for the last probably four mayors," Schor said. "We looked at that when we came in, and we certainly would love to get into a new City Hall.”
Previous mayoral administrations have looked at proposals to convert the facility into a hotel and restaurant space. Mayor Andy Schor said the city could entertain that idea if it finds a new place to house Lansing’s government.
He added its location would make it helpful for visitors lobbying at the Capitol or attending events at the Lansing Center.
"We certainly could use the hotel space," Schor said. "We do think it would be very productive to have more hotel space, but we still have to figure out where we're going to go."
Governor Gretchen Whitmer still needs to sign the budget before state appropriations can be directed to the city and other municipalities by this October. Whitmer could veto specific grants like the Lansing City Hall funding, but Schor said he doesn't expect Whitmer to do that.
