Larch Substation near Old Town could become office space

Haley Hansen | Lansing State Journal

LANSING — A rental property management company is hoping to move into a vacant Lansing Board of Water & Light substation near Old Town sometime next year.

Lansing-based Drew LLC has made a purchase offer on the Larch Substation at 1609 N. Larch, according to city documents. Owner Adam Brewer, who also owns Brewer Salvage, said he plans to move his rental business' offices into the space.

"A soon as we buy it, we’ll gut it out and clean it out and start right away," Brewer said. “It’s basically a shell."

He said renovating the space would be more efficient and financially feasible than trying to build a new office space somewhere else.

The city's Planning Board, along with the BWL's Board of Commissioners, initially recommended the sale of the property in 2007, calling the site "surplus property."

The 5,616-square-foot building has been vacant for more than 10 years. The building was constructed around 1936 and used as an electrical substation. Drew LLC is trying to buy the site from the BWL for $70,000.

Most of the electrical equipment has been removed from the site, according to the city. There's evidence of oil spills inside the building and on some of the concrete outside the building, a staff report said, and the building has lead paint and materials that contain asbestos.

Brewer said his company owns and manages four rental homes and three commercial properties in the Lansing area.

Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.