Page 16 - LRCC FOCUS September 2021

ON THE C O V ER

DOWNTOWN

LANSING

AT A CROSSROADS

THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HIT THE DOWNTOWN traffic and sales of 80-90 percent,” said Cathleen Edgerly,
LANSING BUSINESS DISTRICT WITH A DOUBLE executive director, Downtown Lansing, Inc. “That hit all of
WHAMMY. IN ADDITION TO THE PANDEMIC FORCING our businesses extremely hard, especially a business district
THE CURTAILING AND CLOSING OF BUSINESS largely centered around the daytime worker.”
OPERATIONS, THE IMPACT OF STATE EMPLOYEES
WORKING FROM HOME HAD A DEVASTATING EFFECT Dewpoint moved its rapidly growing technology firm to
ON STATE-DEPENDENT DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES. downtown Lansing in 2015 because it recognized the area’s
potential. Dewpoint president & CEO, Bob Bartholomew
“No downtown business district in Michigan has suffered says Covid-19 has been a major curveball that all of
more than downtown Lansing as a result of Covid-19,” downtown must deal with and overcome.
said Tim Daman, president and CEO, Lansing Regional
Chamber of Commerce (LRCC). “I think the environment is ripe for change,” said
Bartholomew. “I look at this as an opportunity to change
Though many state workers have been returning to the the view of downtown and reintroduce it to businesses and
office, the state’s need for office space has diminished. The private citizens. Downtown is a terrific asset.”
state has canceled more than 250,000 square feet in office
leases, much of it in downtown Lansing. With or without state employees, downtown Lansing faces
a rebuilding job. Though significant challenges are on the
“The impact of the loss of state workers and other offices horizon, many view this period in the history of downtown as
located downtown resulted in an overnight decrease in an opportunity for reinventing the central business district.

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