Officials in Lansing are asking a judge to have a shopping center on the city’s south side declared as a public nuisance and placed under new temporary management.
The Logan Square shopping center is currently host to several vacant storefronts after a period of decline. It's been a frequent site of illicit activity, including alleged illegal gambling and unpermitted large gatherings.
Five people were shot and injured during a shooting at the end of last month outside a venue in the center.
Attorneys with the city filed a complaint in an Ingham County Circuit Court that asserts the incidents have made Logan Square "a public nuisance" and that "(the owners) have failed (to) take any reasonable measures to abate the nuisance and ongoing violence."
The filing alleges the owners have not complied with ordinances that require businesses to prevent illicit activity. It requests the shopping center be placed under a receivership order, a measure that would establish a court-appointed Receiver to temporarily oversee the shopping center instead of its current owners.
The Receiver would be required to evict businesses engaging in illegal activity, ensure illicit gatherings are prohibited and make necessary improvements to the site’s infrastructure and security. The current owners would be billed for the costs.
Attorneys say the owners have failed to prevent public disturbances and that the city “will suffer irreparable harm” if they continue to manage it with neglect.
The city is also seeking to revoke the cabaret license of the Energy Event Center. The July mass shooting occurred in the parking lot of the venue.
