Couch: Looking for a savior for downtown Lansing? Look in the mirror

LANSING — “Less than half.”

That’s the line that really worried me — from a sentence in a letter by House Biggby Managing Partner Jeff McAlvey to customers, taped to the door, explaining why the beloved coffee shop on West Ottawa Street was closing its doors. The letter said they’re “selling less than half of the beverages” they did before the pandemic, back when legislative staff and state workers were in their downtown offices five days a week.

Even a bumbling sports columnist knows that’s not sustainable. And if the House Biggby can’t survive, there are others in peril, too.

I have lots of grand ideas and dreams for downtown Lansing — some of them realistic (let’s get on with replacing City Hall with a hotel with a rooftop restaurant and bar), others less so (how about Michigan State moves James Madison College west by 3 miles?). Everyone I know who cares about Lansing has ideas — about downtown housing, hospitality, entertainment, parking, etc. Ideas aren’t the issue.

The problem is that many of us — looking in the mirror here — talk a good game, but don’t actually live it.

FROM 2021: How to reinvent downtown Lansing, with far fewer state workers

I love this city. I’ll defend it and promote it relentlessly. I grew up here a mile from downtown. Live in the same neighborhood today. Dad worked for the legislature (and frequented the House Biggby). Mom taught at Lansing Community College. I attended church at St. Paul’s across from the Capitol. These days, the Lansing State Journal offices are in the historic Knapp’s Centre. I do a podcast several times a week in a studio a block away.

I’ve had one meal in the last two months downtown. Bought a few coffees, a shirt and tie at Kositchek’s. That’s it. That’s B.S. Entirely unacceptable for someone in my shoes. Unacceptable for someone who will be upset and blame suburbanites if another cherished downtown establishment goes under.

I’m sure I’m not alone.

Having a vibrant downtown Lansing is going to take vision and resources and more residents — and ideally more five-day-a-week workers. And it’s going to take changing habits. That can’t begin later. We can’t wait for some big idea to take hold. There might not be much left by then. And if downtown becomes a place restaurants and bars and other businesses can’t make work — a place that no one wants to be — there’s probably no coming back from it.

I’m not calling on your charity. While downtown could use more places that pull us in — some place that’s your first thought to take out-of-town guests, a place with a view of our greatest attribute, the Capitol Building, more places open late and on weekends — downtown does not lack for quality.

Have you tried EnVie for a date night? Or Kewpee or Sultans or the Daily Bagel for lunch? Or Kelly’s or Midtown Brewing Company or Thai Village? How about all the offerings in the Stadium District? Have you been to Lansing Shuffle yet along the river? It’s worth it. It’s the best idea and setup at the old farmers market since it was actually a farmers market.

There are lots of good places to be in downtown Lansing — to eat and drink and to hang.

I want more for downtown. I’d like to see any building that faces the Capitol (other than churches) have some sort of hospitality venue in it (more like downtown Madison, Wisconsin). I want parking ramps with a Capitol view torn down. And for parking elsewhere not to feel contentious.

We need more people to live downtown, more interesting (and affordable) housing options. More creative spaces. And more workers full-time. Maybe we could incentivize returning to in-person work.

We could use for MSU to invest in Lansing, rather than invest in a new toy in Detroit, like it did last week in purchasing a majority stake the Fisher Building for $21 million. Perhaps MSU could also buy into the downtown in its back yard. It’s better for MSU if Lansing is a vibrant community. We could use your help, Spartans.

There are some hard realities about Lansing. We’re a community that is just big enough for things to work, but not big enough for everything to work. When one area thrives, others sometimes suffer.

But I don’t think enough of us are really trying downtown right now.

The House Biggby isn’t the first place we’ve lost in the last few years. But let's use it as a reminder, use those stark words — "Less than half" — as a warning.

A healthy and lively downtown Lansing begins with us being intentional in our choices.

Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Looking for a savior for downtown Lansing? Look in the mirror