$4.2 million mixed-use development in Old Town approved by Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero

LANSING - A stalled $4.2 million development in Old Town is moving forward.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, who leaves office Monday, signed an agreement Saturday that will let a mixed-use development proceed. The project will turn the abandoned building at 1115 N. Washington Ave. into 5,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 23 residential units on the second and third floors, according to a news release. 

The project will be developed by Sam Saboury, an East Lansing developer who previously renovated Old Town’s Walker Building, according to the release. 

“My economic development team has been working diligently to bring this key project across the finish line before the end of the year,” Bernero said in the release. “I am delighted that we have reached an agreement to breathe new life into an abandoned building in the heart of Old Town that will attract new residents to the city and add much-needed retail space in one of our most vibrant downtown districts.”

The Lansing City Council rejected a previous project proposed for the site, which prompted a federal civil rights complaint and a lawsuit. 

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The City Council's 4-4 vote on March 28, 2016, denied Saboury's request to pay 4% of net revenue from the Old Town project rather than property taxes. A federal lawsuit filed July 2016 alleged that the city and the council members violated the federal Fair Housing and Civil Rights acts when they voted against that tax incentive for that project. 

The State Journal previously reported that income limits for renters at the property would have ranged from $13,850 for one person and up to $39,480 for a family of four. In an April 2016 news conference, Bernero accused council members who voted against the project of discriminating against "low-income people" who want to live in Old Town.

The case was dismissed in September 2017, according to court documents. The federal civil rights complaint has also been resolved, according to Saturday's news release. 

Dismissing the case allowed the project to begin making progress again, Jeffrey Ray, Saboury's Lansing-based attorney said Saturday. 

"It didn’t seem like a good idea to sue them, so we took a look at it and dismissed,” he said. 

Saboury plans to use Department of Housing and Urban Development grants as well as brownfield incentives for the project, although financing isn't entirely in place yet, Ray said. Saboury is no longer requesting to pay 4% of net revenue instead of property taxes,  he said. 

Construction should start sometime in March or April and will last between 12 and 15 months, Ray said. 

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Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.