Editors Note: In this next segment of our continuing series of reports about what’s working right in Michigan, we take you inside the amazing comeback of Lansing’s Old Town.
By Stacey Range Messina
Lorri Rishar Jandron and Angela Artibee Witwer knew exactly where they wanted to open shop when they decided to leave their corporate careers in 2007 and become entrepreneurs.
The long-time marketing and communications colleagues needed somewhere funky, friendly, and, well, edgy to launch their public relations firm Edge Partnerships.
“Old Town just felt right,” Jandron said. “It’s a place you walk into and feel like you’re home. It’s a place where things are happening and where people want to be.”
Once one of the region’s most dilapidated neighborhoods, Lansing’s Old Town has undergone a renaissance in the past two decades, becoming a hub of activity. Its eclectic offerings draw entrepreneurs, new residents and visitors to this trendy pocket a half-mile north of downtown.
Graffiti-covered buildings and boarded-up storefronts have been transformed into a historic commercial district with unique boutiques, kitschy specialty shops, art studios and galleries, locally owned restaurants, and lofts. Offices offer services ranging from legal and accounting to massage, Pilates and yoga. Crowds of 15,000 to 20,000 swarm the main business district’s six blocks for festivals featuring beer and wine tastings, live jazz and blues.
And it’s had an impact on the mid-Michigan economy: Since 2004, more than 30 businesses have opened in Old Town, creating 200 jobs.
“Old Town has re-emerged as a thriving community with a cast of very creative characters,” said Brittney Hoszkiw, executive director of the Old Town Commercial Association.
A large part of the neighborhood’s success is its authenticity, said Joe Borgstrom, director of the Specialized Technical Assistance & Revitalization Strategy (STARS) Division of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
With its prime spot on the Grand River, Old Town was Lansing’s original business district featuring a mill, ash factory, a hotel for state legislators and a handful of bars. But as happened in so many communities, this neighborhood became forgotten in the city’s zeal for growth.
When community leaders Terry Terry and the late Robert Busby took interest in rebuilding the area, they didn’t turn automatically to bulldozers and envision shiny, new structures. They wanted to work with existing structures, uncovering the beauty within by capitalizing on the buildings’ rich architecture and the natural ambiance provided by the river.
“It’s not fake. This is something you can’t get anywhere else,” Borgstrom said. “You won’t find this at the local mall.”
And, he said, authenticity and place are the currency of the 21st century for communities, especially those seeking attention and dollars from the Creative Class and Millennial Generation, which tend to shun mass-produced and emotionless goods and experiences.
The second key to Old Town’s success is the people, he said. The people who first saw the neighborhood’s potential, and those who continue to open businesses despite the current economic challenges.
“It’s a community that refuses to give up,” Borgstrom said. “They don’t listen to the economic forecasts. They see opportunity where other people see challenges.”
As a truck driver for GM suppliers, Michelle Taylor had a front-seat view of the region’s economic turmoil. When GM started cutting shifts, she started looking for other opportunities. She found it when Club 505, a popular lesbian bar in downtown Lansing, closed, leaving a gaping hole in the lesbian hangout scene. At the same time, the Rendezvous on the Grand, a nightclub with a prime location in the heart of Old Town, was listed for sale. Taylor and friend Lisa Whitehead took over the bar in January and are hoping to fill that gap. Taylor’s girlfriend is the chef and is expanding the kitchen into a full-service restaurant.
“The community support has been amazing,” Taylor said. “When we opened, we had other business owners calling and stopping by offering help. They sent flowers. Even those who would be considered our competition said to give them a call if we needed anything. It was wonderful!”
Having grown up in the area, Taylor recalls what it used to look like.
“It was a little spooky and scary down here,” she said. “Buildings were boarded up, lights burned out and broken. I didn’t really like to walk through here. It’s been really fun to watch the whole revitalization. Just watching all these positive changes. And now to be part of it is really great.”
For more information about Old Town, visit the Old Town Commercial Association.
