LANSING, MI – Three homes slated to be demolished at the end of the summer could be saved if buyers come forward with offers to purchase, and relocate, the properties, Lansing Community College announced in a press release Thursday.

"We decided to offer the houses for sale due to interest shown by some members of Preservation Lansing in saving the houses," LCC spokeswoman Ellen Jones said in an email. "This is a practice we have used in the past."

LCC purchased the homes at the corner of Saginaw Street and N. Capital Avenue last week, subsequently announcing plans to tear down the homes and "create a park-like entry with green space and monument signage welcoming visitors to campus, the neighborhood, and to the heart of the city."

But neighborhood activists claimed the homes had historic value and asked the college to reconsider.

Gretchen Cochran, head of the Downtown Neighborhood Association and Preservation Lansing, the group's preservation arm, said LCC may not have known that the homes they planned to knock down were historically significant.

Helped along by Bob Johnson, the city's director of Planning and Neighborhood Development, Preservation Lansing was able to show the college that the homes were indeed historic, she said.

In particular, she said, the home at 205 W. Saginaw St. is significant.

The home was built by F.N. Arbaugh in 1902, and moved to its current location from Townsend Street in 1949, according to the Lansing City Pulse.

"We're delighted that they're willing to put them up for sale," Cochran said, but cautioned that the costs involved in moving a home can be high. "That may not save them. We'll have to see how this all plays out."

At least now, she said, there's a chance.

The minimum bid for the homes at 205 W. Saginaw St., 211 W. Saginaw St. and 617 N. Capitol Ave. is set at $1.

Once purchased, the new owners will have 30 days to move the houses, LCC officials said in a press release.

Those interested in receiving copies of the bids should contact LCC's Purchasing Department at 517-483-1785, between 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday.

E-mail Angela Wittrock: awittroc at mlive dot com and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/AngelaWittrock and Facebook, or reach her by phone at 517.219.7073.

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