I saw the new public service buildings on S. Washington, and I was impressed by the size and look of the new facilities. I guess it makes the tiny city hall make more sense as many departments are now going to be in the new building. It also looks like a nicer design than the city hall, at least more interesting IMO. I had not been that way in a while, so it was disappointing to see that there as has been a further deuteration of the "Logan Center"? buildings like the dry cleaners and bank on the corner of MLK and Holmes. Are there plans for redevelopment going on there, it has been talked about in the past. I do like the supermarket there, lots of cool items from all over the world. Back downtown there was earth moving going on at the Ovation site yesterday, so perhaps that signals the beginning of construction at long last!
I'm not aware of anything going on with Logan Square, seems like I heard something in recent years but it escapes me, maybe some issues between the city and the property owner? I often forget the place even exists, despite growing up nearby we rarely visited anything there, I remember going to Big Lots and a couple dollar stores. The carnivals were good times as a kid.
Unrelated, but has there been any discussion on here about how property taxes in Lansing and their effect on residential development? Our property taxes are some of the highest in the state, and we have nothing to show for it. I understand it may be necessary because property values here are so low, but when you have a house of value in Lansing, you really notice it. It's hard to justify living here when I could live in any suburb in a larger home and pay less in taxes and get more. I'm a very liberal individual and constantly support taxes, but I really fail to understand what the city is doing with the money, even after looking through the budget.
My personal frustrations aside, how is it attractive for anyone on the outside to buy here? Or to retain those that live here currently? Our schools aren't great, our police department is terrible (despite police and fire having $100M budget), the mayor is as useless as can be...why would anyone want to pay ridiculous taxes to live in this parking crater.
This coming from someone that has lived here all their life and for whatever reason prefers it over other options. Yeah, this is a bit of a rant but I'm also curious where others stand. Do our taxes deter development? I know of one single family home developer that wants to focus on quality, affordable homes and infill lots but will only do surrounding communities because Lansing taxes are killer and ruin the affordability aspect. Which results in us having empty, unmaintained lots with next to no tax revenue...
I feel the same way. IDK what to do about property taxes. The existence of the $180m police and fire millage while our parks are in disrepair, streets are poorly maintained, and the city refuses to spend any more than the free state money on city hall was a slap in the face. I'd rather have seen a bond go towards a Lansing Center expansion, new City Market, capital improvements for the parks or a new city amenity like an aquarium, small arena or major amphitheater.
I couldn't believe anyone who actually owns property in the city wouldn't feel the same, but was curious (and a little frustrated). We moved to a considerably more valuable, unique, historic home in Lansing in '24 after being in a small bungalow in a lower property value area for 17 years. We knew taxes would jump because of the change in value alone, and the new house being "uncapped", but wow! We're going to give the appeals process a try to at least get the taxable value down. Every little bit counts.
Before I start going on a rant again, I guess my biggest issue is that we have nothing to show for all these taxes, like you'd mentioned hood. I really want to do some digging and find a broken down budget of that $180M. At our old house, we were put on hold for 5-10 minutes after calling 911 when our neighbor was shot...again (it was a problematic rental/tennant). She died during that hold period. Is that what a $180M gets us? Maybe it was less then...but I can't believe they bumped it up that much in the short time.
I don't know why more people aren't putting up a stink about this insane rate with the city. When you look at a list of rates for the state, it's insane how high Lansing is.
I am not a homeowner in Lansing, and there are times when renting feels like throwing money down a bottomless hole. I think a lot of people have the income to say get a home loan, but when you add taxes utilities, trash removal, and home maintenance, renting becomes the only option. I would say that in Lansing, you should be getting a lot more for the higher taxes you pay. It is also ironic that a tax rate so high stops many folks from even considering buying and the city does not look any better for them. This ends up with our community having to build subsidize government owned rentals and housing for the homeless. This seems like a bad business plan to me. I don't think there is any income to the city from city owned housing in the form of taxes. A lower tax rate could encourage more private developments building new homes and rehabilitating of our older homes. A lot of people would love to live in an old Victorian in Old Town, or even a small bungalow on the east side, but it seems that there are not enough people here making that kind of income to make that move out of rentals. Having very high taxes is not the way to get more homes built. It would also be a good idea if people were paid a wage that reflects the cost of living today. The greater community subsidizes the low wages, freeing employers from the cost of health insurance, income and ssi taxes for full time workers etc... Back in the day folks who worked an Olds could afford to buy a house and an Oldsmobile, send their kids to college, and have a pension for when they retired. They still get good wages at GM only there are thousands of less people working for those good wages.
Yeah, it's hard to encourage people to live in Lansing over the suburbs when the taxes are considerably lower out there.
I think a problem in Lansing is the fact that so much of the housing is so low value that the only way they get any money is by having the tax rate so high. As you said, if we're paying such high rates, we should be getting a lot more in return!
If our taxes weren't so high, maybe it would encourage homeownership and make it more attainable for some. I'll be curious to see how the appeals process goes.
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My personal frustrations aside, how is it attractive for anyone on the outside to buy here? Or to retain those that live here currently? Our schools aren't great, our police department is terrible (despite police and fire having $100M budget), the mayor is as useless as can be...why would anyone want to pay ridiculous taxes to live in this parking crater.
This coming from someone that has lived here all their life and for whatever reason prefers it over other options. Yeah, this is a bit of a rant but I'm also curious where others stand. Do our taxes deter development? I know of one single family home developer that wants to focus on quality, affordable homes and infill lots but will only do surrounding communities because Lansing taxes are killer and ruin the affordability aspect. Which results in us having empty, unmaintained lots with next to no tax revenue...
Before I start going on a rant again, I guess my biggest issue is that we have nothing to show for all these taxes, like you'd mentioned hood. I really want to do some digging and find a broken down budget of that $180M. At our old house, we were put on hold for 5-10 minutes after calling 911 when our neighbor was shot...again (it was a problematic rental/tennant). She died during that hold period. Is that what a $180M gets us? Maybe it was less then...but I can't believe they bumped it up that much in the short time.
I don't know why more people aren't putting up a stink about this insane rate with the city. When you look at a list of rates for the state, it's insane how high Lansing is.
I think a problem in Lansing is the fact that so much of the housing is so low value that the only way they get any money is by having the tax rate so high. As you said, if we're paying such high rates, we should be getting a lot more in return!
If our taxes weren't so high, maybe it would encourage homeownership and make it more attainable for some. I'll be curious to see how the appeals process goes.