Lansing settles Logan Square lawsuit: More cameras, oversight for shopping center

LANSING — For 20 years, Logan Square has been good for Maurice Anderson and he's eager to see what the latest city crackdown will mean for the long-beloved shopping center.

Anderson has done accounting and tax work at his ABC Services office in Logan Square since 2001, and he's one of the longest surviving tenants at the 277,082-square-foot shopping complex at 3222 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., near Holmes Road.

There have been some problems, Anderson said: Years ago, there was a shooting near his business and spent shell casings in the parking lot welcomed him in the morning, and, in 2018, a neighboring business was busted for illegal gambling.

Then a mass shooting happened in the parking lot the night of July 29, wounding five and prompting the city of Lansing's attempts to address the violence. In August, the city attorney's office asked an Ingham County Circuit Court judge to place the aging shopping plaza under the control of a court-appointed receiver.

Anderson hopes for the best from the city's decision to settle that lawsuit with an agreement that will provide more security and seek more accountability from the owners.

The two sides have agreed to a two-year settlement that requires more security cameras, regular meetings between city leaders and shopping center owners, a full-time security guard and stricter controls on who can be a tenant, according to a copy of the settlement, provided by the city.

"The mayor is pleased with the settlement,” city spokesperson Scott Bean said. “The things that a receiver would do are mostly the same things that are taken care of in this settlement. We are pleased that the owners will take steps to make the property safer.”

Jeffrey Klug, an attorney for Logan Square owners and operators Mike Zhang and Kevin Zhang, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Much of the settlement focuses on Logan Square's responsibility to vet and continue to monitor its tenants to make sure they are not engaged in illegal activities and that they report anything illegal to police. The complex has more than 50 spaces, about half of them are currently vacant.

Logan Square's owners will employ a licensed real estate company or person to manage the property for two years who will ask potential tenants "about their business to ensure that said business is not an illegal business," according to the settlement.

The manager would also need to amend existing leases, whenever the lease is next updated, to say that they will not engage in illegal activities and their lease will be terminated if there is documentation of illegal conduct.

There will be at least 32 security cameras that will need to be monitored by a live person for two years from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. daily.

A security guard will need to be onsite from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, as well as during afterhours events, shows, performances or festivals.

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The settlement is one of two efforts by the city to crack down on Logan Square after a shooting incident in the parking lot that involved the night of July 29 and the early hours of July 30. That violent night in July included four separate shootings that left one person dead and at least seven wounded.

The city's mayor and police chief quickly began a two-track effort. One track led to City Council revoking the cabaret license for Logan Square's Energy Event Center. The other track was an effort to get a court to install a receiver who would oversee Logan Square instead of the owners.

The receivership was not accepted, and the settlement was reached in a courtroom last week and finalized Wednesday with paperwork filed in the Ingham County Circuit Court. Judge Wanda Stokes presided over the settlement.

Anderson said the efforts could help make Logan Square safer.

He said the current owners have listened to his concerns, installing lighting in the parking lot and making other improvements that included work on his HVAC system.

The current owners also have started to fill those vacant spots.

"A few years ago, we had maybe less than 30% of space rented out," Anderson said. "They're trying to do renovations and bring other tenants in, but you’ve got to have some income in to do that."

He hopes the new rules will mean good tenants, because he's had a few neighbors that were bad for his business.

"I remember this plaza back in the '70s was real good," Anderson said. "I have been fairly, myself, pleased with what they have been doing lately."

Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing settles Logan Square lawsuit: More cameras, oversight planned