LANSING – Voters will decide the fate of the Lansing Shuffle and former Lansing City Market property in August.
Lansing City Council voted 6-1 to place the question of the facility’s sale on the ballot at its April 20 meeting. Council member Ryan Kost voted against the move. Council member Jeremy Garza was absent from the meeting.
Lansing Shuffle opened in January of 2023 after Detroit Rising invested $4.2 million into the venue. The 11,000-square-foot building can house seven restaurants, common dining space for approximately 150 people, two bars and shuffleboard courts in a four-season space.
The lease agreement between Detroit Rising and the city, reached in 2021, allowed the firm an option to request a public vote to buy the venue after two years of operation. Because the venue sits on park land a vote is required for a sale.
The sale, if approved, would include “the building, shuffle pavilion addition, and upper terrace patio just outside the building on the west. It does not include any riverfront property or Rotary Park property outside the building…,” according to city spokesperson Scott Bean. Additional terms of the sale would be negotiated if voters approve the sale.
The sale price of $953,272 agreed on in the city’s contract with Detroit Rising is based on a 2018 appraisal of the property of $720,000.
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Kost has been vocal about his opposition to a possible sale the facility and the 0.66 acres of park land it sits on. During a Committee of the Whole meeting on Monday night, he said he’s still opposed to selling parkland and does not agree with a sale price based on an appraisal done eight years ago.
“I think this is a rotten deal for the citizens of Lansing,” Kost said.
Detroit Rising currently leases the property at 325 Riverfront Drive from the city for $2,000 a month. That money goes to the city’s parks department and generates $24,000 a year.
While Detroit Rising’s lease with the city runs through 2040, the deal includes a clause that allows either party to pull out of it” by giving a 30-day written notice of intent to terminate,” Bean said.
Earlier this month, the city’s Parks Board recommended officials retain ownership of the property.
Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tim Daman submitted a letter of support from the organization for putting the sale on a ballot on Monday.
“The Chamber believes this decision is an important opportunity to reinforce private sector growth, encourage long term investment along our riverfront, and allow the voters of Lansing to have a direct voice in the future of this public asset,” according to the letter.
Detroit Rising was among fewer than five developers who submitted proposals for the building’s redevelopment after the city sought them in 2019. Lansing had previously provided around $80,000 per year in subsidies toward operating the City Market.
Jonathan Hartzell, a founding partner at Detroit Rising, has said owning the property will allow the firm to secure funds for continued investment in it.
Contact Reporter Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X @GrecoatLSJ.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Voters will decide whether to sell Lansing Shuffle building, land
Reporting by Rachel Greco, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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