At the end of September 2020, Unity confirmed that we could not restore our building and make it handicap accessible for less that $1 million plus, far exceeding our budget.
Unity made the difficult decision to release the building. We have an offer on the building and hope to close by the end of April
Unity has purchased 9 1/2 acres of the property at 2395 Washington Road, formerly known at the Chisholm Hills Golf Course and Banquet Club. We leave the Prospect and ABC neighborhood with a deep sense of loss of a wonderful community and hope to maintain the wonderful connections we have made over the years.
Thank you for your support, your kindness, your commitment to community.
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If you have any questions or inquiries please send your email to UnityLansingOffice@gmail.com
HISTORY OF OUR POST FIRE JOURNEY
March 12th, Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing received it's final approval for rezoning to Nonconforming "A" which means we an restore our building. We are currently in conversation with an architect to beging the process. Once the plans are finalized, we will be going out to bid.
Thank you for all your support.
February 5th: At the meeting of theLansing Planning Board, Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing was successful acquiring a rezoning from Nonconforming "B" to Nonconforming "A". This lifts the financial restrictions to the restoration process. A condition of the rezoning was a landscaping of the parking lot area to improve it's appearance in the neighborhood. The next step is approval from the Zoning Appeals Board at their meeting on February 13th.
December 1st, 2019
Dear Community Neighbors~
The neighborhood will look different this holiday season. You will not be seeing the usual Christmas decorations on our corner of Holmes and Prospect Street.
As most of you are aware, Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing had a major fire the first week of September. There has been overwhelming support from the community. This out pouring of support has truly been a blessing, particularly the generosity of The Fledge, just up the street from Unity, who supports us with sanctuary space for our Sunday services.
Thanks to Lansing Fire Department’s Battalion Chief Tony Martinez and his team they were able to put the fire out within an hour. Investigators spent the following weeks sifting through the historic building’s charred interior and found that the fire was caused by an electrical surge in the administrative office of the center. Because of the extensive impact of the fire, gutting of the building was required to remove the charred and damaged materials, work which is nearing completion.
So where do we go from here?
Sunday, November 24th, our congregation voted to restore our beloved building at 230 S. Holmes Street.
We are currently working with the City of Lansing to obtain the necessary approval (Class A Nonconforming Status) to allow Unity to restore and rebuild.
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the project and of the potential impacts it may have in the neighborhood during the period of work. Our current estimation is that the work would start sometime in March 2020 and likely continue for a year.
The City of Lansing requires certain upgrades to meet current building code regulations. Large portions of the work will be inside, restoring the sanctuary at its current size, installing HVAC systems, installing and renovation of restrooms, installing an elevator, all new windows and restoring and upgrading our lighting and electrical service. We will be bringing the entire building up to current construction code standards.
Exterior work will include expanding the building a bit to the West to provide office space and ADA compliant facilities for our mobility challenged members and neighbors. This will not impinge on our current parking spaces.
As construction plans unfold, we can provide email updates about the timing of specific actions that may be loud or disruptive. To receive these updates, please visit www.unitylansing.org/neighbor to be added to the e-mail list.
If you need to contact us, feel free to contact me, the minister, at 517 371-3010 or email me at revsharonketchum@gmail.com
It is a large endeavor, and while the safety of all is our primary concern, we are sensitive to any disruptions it may cause in the neighborhood. While we hope to improve our facility on the inside, and the functionality and landscaping on the outside, we also want to be cognizant of how this is affecting you through the process. So please do not hesitate to let us know if we drop the ball in some way that you find unacceptable. We will do our best to make the situation right to the best of our ability.
Unity Spiritual Center of Lansing values you, our neighbor, and appreciates your understanding during this process.
Holiday Blessings to you,
Rev. Sharon Ketchum
Senior Minister at Unity
revsharonketchum@gmail.com Cell: 226-339-1907