City Pulse News Rewind: Shuffleboard in store for City Market  

City Pulse News Rewind is a look back at five noteworthy items that made the news over the last week.

Shuffleboard in store for City Market  

A lease agreement pending between the city of Lansing and the Detroit Rising Development Group aims to transform the old Lansing City Market Building into the Lansing Shuffleboard and Social Club by 2022, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor announced. Plans include six or more food vendors, a bar, live entertainment and community space. The developer will pay a maximum of $24,000 a year, far less than the last tenant, Waterfront Bar & Grill, paid ($72,000 annually) for a third of the space, but the city said it’s justified by an $80,000 a year savings in maintenance that the developer will take over. Portions of the $3.2 million development costs would be funded with tax-increment financing through a Brownfield Redevelopment plan. City Council must approve.  

COVID-19 cases skyrocket in East Lansing 

Officials at the Ingham County Health Department are still scrambling to control a recent spike in COVID-19 cases tied largely to ongoing house parties near Michigan State University. (See story, P. 8). As of this week, more than 550 cases have been tied to students living near campus in East Lansing.The recent uptick means Ingham County is now tracking the highest daily case rate in Michigan, and it’s getting worse. Vail tallied 980 cases in Ingham County — including more than 550 at MSU — since Sept. 1. That’s almost 40% of the cases detected since March in just two weeks. At MSU, more than 15% of all tests processed in the last two weeks have been positive. In total, Michigan has had more than 112,000 COVID-19 cases and 6,600 deaths, including more than 3,600 cases and 66 deaths in Greater Lansing. 

Lansing taxpayers face extra $12M in assessments  

The Lansing City Council moved closer this week to issuing $12 million in tax assessments to residents as soon as this winter to cover about two-thirds the cost of the Ingham County drain commissioner’s $34.8 million Montgomery Drain reconstruction project. About half of Lansing’s share of the regional project is set to be covered by every taxpaying property owner in the city. Those near the project will pay the other half, plus the citywide tax. That equates to an average cost over 30 years of $6,681 for residential properties without parking lots and $243,445 for commercial properties. It also means the average taxpaying property owner would pay an added .26 mills on their winter property taxes — more if near the project. A public hearing is scheduled Oct. 12.  

Guns are still allowed at Capitol  

A board that oversees Michigan’s Capitol building on Monday put off making a final decision about whether to ban guns there, more than four months after armed protesters opposed to the governor’s coronavirus shutdowns entered the building. The Michigan State Capitol Commission voted against two motions to ban all long guns and open carry of any gun. Commissioners want to meet with lawmakers to discuss funding for enforcement before making a final decision. Law enforcement could still carry weapons.  

 City Rescue Mission expanding. 

Additional space could be available soon for those struggling with homelessness as the City Rescue Mission of Lansing charts expansion along the 600 block of Michigan Avenue. Officials told City Pulse last week about plans to expand the mission’s existing men’s shelter into the two buildings to the west, across the street from the Capital City Market grocery store, hotel and apartments under construction in Lansing’s Stadium District. The Rescue Mission purchased a vacant law office at 605 E. Michigan Ave. (and the empty loft apartments above it) last month. Plans continue to buy a vacant commercial building at 603 E. Michigan. Renovations could take a few years.