Accident Fund Headquarters (Ottawa Street Station Redevelopment)

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Comments

  • edited September 2007
    I seriously doubt anything is going on with any of the proposals. We've been given this run-around for YEARS, now. The OSS redevelopment is one of the many campaign promises mayors never intend to keep. Either that, or they promise something not knowing how incredibly complicated getting something of this size up and running again can be.

    It seems to me that the city planners are in a bit of a disarray at the moment.
  • I agree with LMich... this project has been going in circles for a long time. It almost makes me dizzy.
  • Posted by sabatoa but moved to this thread

    Source

    Accident Fund moving to Ottawa power plant site
    Jeremy W. Steele
    Lansing State Journal


    UPDATED AT 10:58 a.m. - Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America will redevelop the idled riverfront Ottawa Power Station in a $182 million project for downtown Lansing.

    The Lansing-based workers compensation insurer would move its downtown headquarters to the plant and several adjacent acres of riverfront land. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority approved a tax credit this morning worth nearly $26 million to help finance the project. More local and state incentives are expected.

    Some work would start this year, including taking down the smokestack on top of the power plant. The project is expected to be completed by January 2011.

    The project will include converting the power plant into a 10-story office tower, with an additional 120,000 square feet of new construction. Accident Fund plans to occupy all the space.

    Accident Fund plans to add up to 500 jobs over the next 10 to 15 years. Accident Fund currently has about 650 workers.

    Company officials are scheduled to join Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero at a 9:30 a.m. press conference this morning to talk about the project. Accident Fund is a for-profit subsidiary of Detroit-based health insurer Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

    The power plant has sat mostly vacant since the Lansing Board of Water & Light stopped producing power there in 1992. It houses a chiller, water and steam distribution plant installed in 1999.

    City officials long have dreamed of finding a new use for the landmark building. But past projects – including an entertainment complex by Earvin "Magic" Johnson and a proposal to put state offices there – never moved beyond lofty ideas.

    Rehabbing the site was given new energy about a year ago, when the city again sought a developer to take on the former power plant. That push received interest from at least two developers, but again seemed to fizzle.
  • edited October 2007
    D-d-d-d-daaaannngg......

    It's not public use necessarily, but still, at least something is FINALLY happening there. $182 Million... wow!
  • I hope that there will be something ground-floor though.
  • This is huge, I really can't think of what to say, I mean this will probably be the largest development in downtown's history at $182 million. I'm mainly concerned with how the new construction looks and what Accident Fund will do with it's current HQ and their assortment of parking lots, many of which are prime for development. I think it may take a little while to understand the true scope of this project and the subsequent properties that are being freed-up for development.
  • LMich, you can now officially eat your words about mayors making campaign promises they don't intend to keep and city planners being in disarray. Eau contraire, my friend, eau contraire. :)

    Randy
  • WOW! I heard the good news all the way down in Houston! Congrats Lansing!
  • Welcome to the forum RandyH. I'm sure LMich isn't mad when they do follow through with campaign promises, it's just pretty often that they don't.
  • Retail would have been nice, but I'm glad that something is finally going to happen with it. I hope that they can keep the look similar. It's a great looking building.
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