Lansing Community College will tear down three downtown houses this summer that preservationists deem historic and replace them with a “welcoming plaza” on the north side of campus.
A posse of 15 preservation experts toured the houses Friday and deplored the impending loss of three more century-old-plus buildings in the heart of the city.
LCC bought the three properties, on the southwest corner of Capitol Avenue and Saginaw Street, in May for a total of $400,000.
“The fact of this building coming down upsets me more than us losing our office,” Bonnie Faraone, wife of attorney Michael Faraone, told the group. The Faraones have kept their law office at 617 N. Capitol, built in 1888, for eight years. “We’re just a person who’s going to pass through time, like everyone else,” Faraone said. “This thing has survived 124 years.”