City of East Lansing Bailey Community Center Protecting Michigan’s Future Bond Fund Grant #BF89-373 Request for Partial Conversion Support Materials Introduction In 1990, the City of East Lansing entered into an agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to accept a Protecting Michigan’s Future Bond Fund Grant in the amount of $69,000 to replace existing windows on the Bailey Community Center (Grant #BF89-373)1. The Community Center had been constructed in 1922 as an East Lansing Public School and had been used for that purpose until the 1980’s, at which time it became a City of East Lansing public facility. The building has been used as a Community Center since then. The Bailey Community Center is located at 300 Bailey Street, East Lansing, MI. The Community Center and surrounding parking lots comprise the southern 1/3 of Bailey Park. The Park is 3.77 acres, with 1.58 acres being dedicated to the Community Center and parking lots2. The entire Park was encumbered in the Bond Fund Project Agreement. Concerns with the physical condition of the Community Center and the cost to continue operation of a Childcare Facility in this location prompted the City of East Lansing to pursue a Building Assessment in late 2014. The purpose of the assessment was to gain a comprehensive understanding of the existing condition of the Center and the actions needed to allow continuation of the current Center uses. The main body of the report can be found in Attachment C. The Building Assessment identified a wide range of building needs and deficiencies. Of primary concern was the finding that the Bailey Community Center did not meet fire safety code as it related to fire suppression and emergency egress lighting. It was the determination of the City’s Building Official that the Community Center should be closed until such time as those corrections could be made. The Opinion of Probable Cost included in the Building Assessment valued the cost of improvements required by code at approximately $240,000. When the estimated costs of these improvements are coupled with the costs of improvements that are necessary to allow existing Center uses to continue, the cost of needed improvements reaches over $475,0003. The City of East Lansing is not in a position to fund these required improvements so therefore it was the decision of City Council to close of the Community Center. Description of Conversion The City of East Lansing intends to convert the Bailey Community Center and surrounding parking lots from public use to limited private use, for the purpose of renovating the Center into a senior housing development. The conversion area is approximately 1.6 acres in size and includes the building and the parking lots, entrances, and hard surface play area that surround the building. Additionally, a number of trees will be removed, as will a public four-person swing-set and small multi-use play structure. 1 See Attachment A, Protection Michigan’s Future Bond Fund Grant #BF89-373 Project Agreement 2 See Attachment B, 2015 City of East Lansing Park, Recreation, Open Space and Greenways Plan, Pgs 160-161 3 Author’s Note: there has been extensive discussion surrounding the need for some of the improvements stated in the plan, as well as their estimate of probable cost. For the purposes of this document, the information is presented as it is found in the Facility Assessment Report. 1 The property included in the conversion has been leased to the Capital Area Housing Partnership (CAHP), who will be responsible for the renovation and management of the proposed senior housing development and for the site improvements necessary to support the housing development4. The lease is contingent on approval of the conversion by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The conversion will remove a swing-set and small multi-use play structure from service. It will also remove a deteriorated asphalt surface and will convert the fully public Community Center building into a limited private use. Since the Community Center has been in City ownership, it has housed art, dance, fencing, ceramics and other general recreation programs, and has provided a space for the City of East Lansing Early Childcare Program. CAHP has committed to dedicating $25,000 for the replacement of the play features that are scheduled to be removed. CAHP will also mitigate the trees removed in their final landscape plan for the site. The majority of general recreation programs have been transferred to the East Lansing Hannah Community Center, which is less than a mile away at 819 Abbot Road. The ceramics program could not be relocated to Hannah without investing in renovation of an existing space so the City of East Lansing is pursing grant funds to relocate the ceramics program. Additionally, CAHP’s renovation plans for the interior of the Bailey Center include several public meeting and use spaces, and they have committed to pursue a private partner to provide a day care program in the completed facility. Description of Proposed Mitigation Property As mitigation for the conversion of the Bailey Center, the City of East Lansing is proposing to dedicate the property at the northeast corner of Albert Avenue and Abbot Road, as a park. A comparison of the two properties is shown below: Item Bailey Center Mitigation Property Size +/- 1.6 acres 0.216 acres Value $ 195,000 $ 376,000 Location 300 Bailey St Albert Ave & Abbot Rd Current Site Cover Building, asphalt Concrete, lawn, landscape beds Located within the boundaries of the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority and the Downtown Management Board, this property is listed with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) as one of East Lansing’s “Redevelopment Ready” Sites5. As late as 2014, a local development company was exploring options for redeveloping this property as part of a development project. Currently the property is being used as a community space but is not designated as a park. The City would propose to remove this property from the redevelopment ready site list and dedicate it as a public park, subject to the encumbrances currently assigned to the Bailey Center. Alternatives to the Proposed Conversion Two primary alternatives to conversion were considered: 1. Perform the improvements needed to continue to operate the Bailey Community Center for public use. 2. Close the Community Center but take not further action. 4 Attachment D: Lease of Bailey Community Center 5 Attachment E: October 17, 2014, City of East Lansing Memorandum, Redevelopment Ready Sites list, Pgs. Site Location Map, Mitigation Property pages, Bailey Community Center pages 2 The option to perform the necessary improvements to keep the Center open was evaluated over the course of several months. Additional discussions and inspections were conducted to identify options to reduce the cost of the improvements, and additional funding and revenue streams were researched and evaluated. The City of East Lansing determined that it is not possible to reduce the cost of the improvements enough to bring them within a range that could be funded with additional identified revenue. The option to close the Community Center but take no further action was vehemently opposed by the neighborhood. While it was raised as an option, it was never considered a viable one due to this opposition. Existing and Proposed Conversion Site Plans A property survey and existing topographic survey, as well as a proposed site plan for the Bailey Center are provided in Attachment F and G, respectively. Location Map and Site Plan for the Mitigation Property A location map and existing site plan for the Mitigation Property are provided in Attachment H and I, respectively. A legal description of site is provided in Attachment J. No new improvements are proposed for this site at this time. Comparison of Recreation Usefulness The conversion area is approximately 1.6 acres in size and includes a Community Center, parking lots and entrances, an asphalt surface on the north side of the building, a four-person swing-set and a small multi- use play structure. Attachment K contains photographs of the site conditions. The Community Center has housed art, dance, fencing, ceramics and other general recreation programs, and has provided a space for the City of East Lansing Early Childcare Program. The mitigation property is 0.216 acres in size and is currently used as a public community space. It is bisected by a concrete and brick walkway that encircles a fountain and is lined with landscape beds and benches. There is a Peace Pole in one of the landscape beds. The space is used as a location for activities during various East Lansing festivals, including the Folk and Art Festivals. Mitigation Property Compliance with Recreation Plan Because of its size, the mitigation property would be classified as a mini-park. The 2015 City of East Lansing Park, Recreation, Open Space and Greenways Plan indicates that there is a deficit of mini-parks in the City of East Lansing: the NRPA standard is 0.25 mini-parks per 1,000 residents; the City of East Lansing has 0.13 mini-parks per 1,000 residents6. In addition, the Plan Park Service Area Analysis indicates that there is a deficit of mini-parks in the area of the City were the mitigation property is located7. Attachment L shows how the mitigation property will begin to fill the deficit for this area. Due Care Information As mentioned above, the proposed mitigation property is owned by the City of East Lansing as a redevelopment ready site. It has been owned by the City since 19838. Attachment N provides a history of 6 2015 City of East Lansing Park, Recreation, Open Space and Greenways Plan, pgs 49-50 7 2015 City of East Lansing Park, Recreation, Open Space and Greenways Plan, pgs 46-48 8 Attachment M: Property Deed 3 the property which contains no evidence of any commercial or industrial uses.