The University of Michigan Health-Sparrow is demolishing the former Lansing Eastern High School building to make way for a new psychiatric facility, but one area resident who fought the move doesn’t regret the effort.
Andrew Muylle is a 2013 graduate of Eastern, and a member of The Coalition to Preserve Eastern High School and Promote Mental Health.
The group spent months trying to convince the hospital system to rehabilitate the nearly 100-year-old building rather than tearing it down, due to its historic and community significance. But ultimately, they failed.
Despite that, Muylle says they succeeded in another way: they organized a group of area residents who want to save structures that represent Lansing’s past.
“We’ve sort of created a community of folks that are really passionate about their home, and I think there will be much more beyond Eastern,” Muylle said. “We don’t think that this is probably the last historical building that will be threatened, not necessarily by one organization, but by different organizations.”
The city of Lansing approved the demolition of the former Eastern High building Monday. UM Health-Sparrow leaders have said health and safety issues made it impossible to renovate the space.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.