- East Lansing's City Hall was constructed in 1965, and is in need of upgrades.
- East Lansing has opened discussions about renovating the current building, but may also look to build a new one.
- Video shows Carrie Sampson, East Lansing's Communications Director, walking us through some of the issues with the current building.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your East Lansing Neighborhood Reporter Colin Jankowski. East Lansing's City Hall has been a staple here on Abbot Road since 1965. But soon, that could be changing. The City has opened discussions about renovating the current space while also taking a look at moving to a new one.
"Some of the things we have now and take for granted, we didn't have back then," Carrie Sampson said.
East Lansing City Hall was built 60 years ago, and the City says it needs some upgrades. Communication Director Carrie Sampson and I walked through the building to take a look, starting with accessibility concerns.

"The elevator for the building that serves the public and employees is all the way in the new portion of the building that was built in the 80s," Carrie said.
Carrie and I walked from the front entrance to the elevator, and it took us nearly a full minute to get there. While that may not seem like long, Carrie says it's presented problems for neighbors with difficulty walking in the past.
"Our income tax administrator used to be on the second floor," she said. "Her office moved to the first floor. But we had a community member come in who was elderly, and he came up to the second floor to talk to her, and we had to send him back down. And it was a lot of walking."
Outside of accessibility improvements, Carrie says many offices and rooms have issues with heating, and staff have had to use space heaters to deal with the problem. But what comes next?
"Really the process is to evaluate the space here at city hall to see how we could best be using the space," Carrie said.
The City is working on submitting a request for proposals, or RFP, for potential new locations for a city hall, while also looking at modifying the existing location. But, Carrie stressed to me that it's still very early in the process, and the goal right now is simply to weigh options.
"That's what we're hoping for with the RFP," she said. "To find out what our options are."
I'll continue to follow the process and will bring you the latest updates as they come.
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