Plans to relocate Lansing’s City Hall to the Masonic Temple building remain at a standstill as Mayor Andy Schor pushes back on a request from members of the City Council to consider new proposals for the move.
In a letter sent earlier this month, half of the council urged Schor to accept bids for a new site to host the city's government offices, raising concerns about the scope of the project.
The group, which includes Councilmembers Jeffrey Brown, Ryan Kost, Trini Lopez-Pehlivanoglu and Tamera Carter, argued the mayor’s selection process wasn’t transparent.
They claimed the location lacked sufficient accessible parking and took issue with parts of the building potentially going unused or being leased out to a tenant. Officials with the Lansing School District have expressed interest in relocating to the temple building if the deal goes through.
Since then, Schor has sent a reply to the councilmembers, arguing his office complied with the law and made information available to the public.
The mayor said the city will not issue a request for alternative proposals.
"Allowing others...to re-bid and undercut a winning bidder would be highly irregular and greatly discourage future bidders from bidding for projects in our city. People will not bid on city projects if they believe that the loser can force a re-bid and undercut them. This gives a leg up to a losing bidder, and is bad practice for any entity that bids out projects," he said.
The mayor said the site would have ample parking for visitors, with on-street parking spots and a garage across the street. He argued it's in the city's interest to repurpose the historic temple building and receive revenue from leasing the space out to potential tenants.
Lansing has received $40 million from the state to redevelop city hall. Previous agreements with the Boji Group, which owns the former Masonic Temple, put the purchase price of the building at more than $3.5 million.
In his letter, Schor said further delays could jeopardize support from state officials on future projects.
"We are asking for significant dollars for projects like Logan Square and others, and this delay could put those requests at risk," he wrote. "Also, a delay of this sort could result in attempts to claw back unspent and unallocated City Hall dollars by some members of the Legislature if those dollars have not been committed to a project."
The mayor said if a majority of the council will not move forward with the Masonic Temple building, he’ll review other locations that could serve as the next City Hall.
