"The real catalyst that made things go into the motion was the user — Blue Cross and the Accident Fund — who were willing to say, 'You know what, let's give this a shot,'" Roznowski said.

Blue Cross had some prior experience in renovating an historic building in a downtown. In October 2004, the Blues moved their west Michigan regional office from the suburbs into the former Steketee's department store building in downtown Grand Rapids.

"We thought being part of an urban core, given what was going on in Grand Rapids, that it made sense to do it," Loepp said. "As it turned out, I think there'd be an insurrection now if the folks in Grand Rapids were told they have to go back out into the suburbs."

For the Lansing project, tax incentives also were a driving factor in making the economics of the massive rehab project work when construction began in 2008 as the country plunged into a recession that had hit Michigan years earlier.

About one-quarter of the $182 million cost was subsidized through tax incentives ranging from brownfield redevelopment tax increment financing and job-creation tax credits to state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits.

The $42 million in tax incentives made the cost of renovating the power plant about 6 percent higher than new construction on a greenfield site, Loepp said.

At the time, Blue Cross and Accident Fund benefited from lower costs of construction materials and labor — and political leaders who were eager to have a major construction project putting people to work during the recession.

"Everybody was rowing in the same direction," Loepp said. "And to get something that complicated done, you almost have to have that, I think."

The renovation project itself lasted nearly three years, as an addition had to be built alongside a new 900-spot parking deck. An old parking garage that straddled Grand Avenue in front of the plant had to be torn down, and other other improvements were needed along the riverfront, Reynolds said.