The owner of a historic house in Lansing is asking the city for more time after failing a safety inspection that could lead to the structure’s demolition.
The house on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. is the first ever designed by prominent late 19th century architect Darius Moon. He built more than 250 buildings in the Lansing area, most of which are no longer standing.
The house had been damaged by a fire and has fallen into disrepair. Lansing’s City Council issued an order earlier this year to make the building safe to occupy or demolish it.
Dimondale resident Alesia Flowers purchased the house in 2019. She says more than $80,000 has already been invested in repairing the property, with more funding already committed for the renovation project.
When complete, the lower level of the house would become a coffee shop, with the upper floors becoming apartments.
“This property is more than bricks and mortar,” Flowers said. “It represents Lansing’s history, and our community’s future.”
But the department tasked with tracking progress and carrying out the order says permits have not been pulled to make necessary mechanical, electrical or plumbing repairs.
Rawley Van Fossen leads the department. He says his hands are tied unless City Council acts.
“My role, simply, at this point, is to enforce the law that counsel has passed,” Van Fossen said. “Whether I like it or not, my job is still to enforce it.”
The city could select a contractor to demolish the building by late September or early October, unless City Council removes the order.
Councilmember Trini Pehlivanoglu says City Council has never voted to remove a make safe or demolish order after passing it in the time she’s been a member.
“At this point in time, there’s nothing that would necessarily trigger that,” Pehlivanoglu said.
She says she’s concerned that taking such a step would open the city up to similar requests from owners of other properties with make safe or demolish orders.
“If we take an action that has not been taken previously, it would certainly set a precedent,” Pehlivanoglu said. That would need to be a question that perhaps is consulted with our city attorney’s office to understand what that precedent could mean in the future if any action is taken to reverse course on that. Are there any special circumstances that may exist with this property that maybe we’re not completely aware of?”
But she says she has offered to meet with Flowers to learn how much longer it might take to make the property safe.
“While we do our best to work with property owners, we like to see some improvements being done to the properties,” Pehlivanoglu said. “To see some growth there and see these properties being made safe, that is the goal.”
While the exterior of the house has not seen significant improvements, Flowers says the interior has seen significant improvements.
“You walk in there, you can see the vision,” Flowers said. “You walk in there, you’re like this makes sense and it’s going to be beautiful.”
In addition to funding delays, Flowers says the unique nature of restoring a historic structure takes more time.
Windows had to be designed to the specifications of the originals due to a preservation permit on the exterior of the house.
Inside the house, a staircase that originally went up 16-feet had to be reworked due to updated safety code mandating that a staircase can only reach 12-feet before having a landing.
Flowers says she considered seeking a historic landmark designation for the property, but was advised against it due to the strict guidelines she would have to follow.
“We’re going to redo that inside, but we’re going to keep some of the same things in place,” Flowers said. “We’re going to modernize it and keep it historical at the same time.”
The house failed a safety inspection in July. Pehlivanoglu said that unless the department reaches a different determination, the entire process has been completed and the house will likely be demolished.
“On a personal level, while as a resident and citizen I may feel that this property, you know, is there a way to save it and is there something that could be done, we do have rules to follow, we do have ordinances to follow,” Pehlivanoglu said. “And so it’s balancing that to understand what is possible, and what are the ramifications if we were to reverse course on an order like this.”
Flowers says she has been avoiding thinking about the possibility that the house could actually be knocked down.
“Do you want to lose sleep? Fight with the city for your dream,” Flowers said. “You want to gain weight? Fight with the city for your dream.”
