Lansing officials approve Hilton plan, but may extend deadline on whether to demolish former bank building
As the Lansing Village Board approved a plan Tuesday for a new hotel on Torrence Avenue, trustees considered extending the deadline for how to approach the former bank building in front of where the hotel will be built.
The trustees voted 6-0 go allow a Tru by Hilton Hotel to be built at 17130 Torrence Ave., with some exceptions for the building height, parking lot setbacks and signs, according to the ordinance.
The hotel will be built near the former Royal Bank building, which is five-stories, according to the village. The building has been vacant for at least 10 years, said village administrator Dan Podgorski.
“It’s falling apart. It looks worse and worse every year,” Podgorski said.
Since the village and Lewisville Hotel Partners LLC entered into the purchase agreement for the land June 21, 2019, village and hotel officials have had an agreement the company will have to decide if the former bank building should be demolished or sold it to a developer, Podgorski said.
Most recently, there was a deadline of Dec. 12 to determine what to do, said village attorney Dan Welch, but inflation and supply chain issues delayed the decision. Podgorski said the decision was also delayed because hotel officials have had trouble getting financing amid the pandemic.
“Things didn’t go as smoothly as we had hoped,” Welch said.
The board indicated Tuesday it would support extending the deadline for the former bank building to June 30. The board will hold a formal vote at its next meeting.
If approved, Podgorski said hotel officials will have to decide if they want to sell the building or demolish it. It would likely be easiest to tear down the structure and build a new space for businesses, he said, but village officials are open to hearing a proposed plan for the building.
“Demolishing could result in the quickest turn around of that site,” Podgorski said. “But if someone has a grand idea for that site ... that’s fine with us.”
Trustee Saad Abbasy said he’d like to see the space redeveloped either into retail and dining options or as office space.
“Considering the overall economic growth on Torrence Avenue, I would hope that any development at the old bank building would enhance that growth ... not only to the future Tru by Hilton hotel, but the surrounding auto dealerships, existing business and Lansing’s Sports Complex,” Abbasy said.
Trustee Mike Fish said he’s glad to hear the village is taking steps to ensure something is done about the old bank building because it has “become a dump site.”
“I would just like to see whatever they do to it, whether rehabilitation or demolish, get done. I don’t like looking at empty buildings,” Fish said.
Podgorski said the village owns the building, which is in a tax increment financing district. In a TIF district, the equalized assessed value of all property in the district is used to establish a baseline, with incremental increases in tax revenue, due to redevelopment, held in a separate TIF fund.
Taxing bodies, including the city and school districts, would normally continue to receive property tax revenue based on that baseline amount, but won’t see higher amounts of tax revenue until after the TIF expires.
In this case, because the city owns the land, no taxes are now paid. Once the property is back in private hands, any property taxes would all go into the TIF fund. That money can be used to pay for costs including public improvements such as sewer and water lines, demolition of buildings or incentives to a developer.
