Preuss Pets

One of the newest arrivals to Old Town is Preuss Pets in an old car dealership now converted into a pet store at the corner of Cedar Street and Grand River Avenue.

“As soon as I walked in, I fell in love with the rafters,” said Rick Preuss, who owns the shop with his wife, Debbie. “It’s like that line …, ‘You had me at the rafters.’”

Both Rick’s and Debbie’s families already had ties to Old Town with the family name on two of the area’s buildings, including one where Rick’s great-grandfather ran a meat market. Debbie’s uncle worked as the head mechanic for the dealership where the pet shop is now.

“I feel like we’ve come full circle,” said Debbie Preuss. “We both come from very nurturing, loving families and this is a reminder of that. We investigated different possibilities, but we knew that this fit.”

“We wanted to have a better facility to serve the customers that we’ve built up over the past 25 years,” said Rick. “The building was large enough, and it was in a community where everyone was so embracing. No matter where we went, there was somebody who would encourage us.

The Preusses have a DVD showing the stages of the renovation and even incorporated an old abandoned bus into part of the displays.

“We’ve got an expanded quarantine facility for all the incoming fish, the reptile room is in an ‘under jungle’ theme, the bird department now has a nursery room and more space for the birds,” Rick explained. “The fish room has double the amount of tank capacity we had before, and we now actually have a fish propagation room, which is seldom ever seen at the retail level. We actually produce many of the fish, like angel fish, which are very popular, but no one can have them unless they breed their own.”

“The fact that we needed to transform the building didn’t scare us,” he continued. “My brother was a general contractor for the job. In nine months, he was able to transform it into something that was useable. Even when you look at the cost of making the transformation, it was a lot cheaper than to build something that was 25,000 square feet, and if we were to build something new, it wouldn’t have near the personality.”

“This is our fourth building,” said Debbie. “We’ve just kept expanding since 1983. We’ve had a vision for a very long time, and we’ve finally been able to create that, accommodating all of the needs we’ve dreamed about.”

She noted that much of her work ethic and appreciation for renovating older structures stems from her father, a former General Motors technician who was always working on some project.

Preuss Pets has become a destination. “People come to us from a good distance,” Rick stated. “We were this hometown business and grew bigger. Now we serve a regional audience and, in this building, we can serve them well. What’s nice about this building is it’s a lifelong commitment to the community that we serve.”

On the Grand Condominiums

After completing a 20-unit development in Phase I, On the Grand Condominiums owner David Ferguson is in the process of completing an additional eight units in Phase II, with some of them already sold. Phase III will run along Dodge River Drive, with construction beginning this year and completion expected in spring of 2008. Once finished, the development will have a total of 40 units.

“On the Grand Condominiums is ideally located in the heart of Lansing’s historic Old Town District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and lies along the beautiful stretch of the Grand River,” Ferguson said. “These are huge attractions for homeowners interested in living in an inviting urban neighborhood.”

The condos feature balconies, fireplaces, stainless steel appliances, and “the view of the river is awesome,” according to Marchelle C. Smith, marketing director and office manager for the Lansing Economic Development Corporation. “It’s beautiful.”

With more than $6.9 million in private investment, the development is also receiving funding from the Neighborhood Enterprise Zone (NEZ) incentive program, reducing a homeowner’s property tax by 50 percent for new construction. “It’s a marketing tool to attract residents into a growing urban center,” Smith explained. “It can help qualify people who couldn’t otherwise afford it.”

More revitalization

“We have a very creative community,” noted Schriner-Hooper. “I think we have more graphic artists per square foot than anywhere else in the area. Harvest Music does national business and they’re one of the creative groups. They just renovated their building on Washington Avenue. That’s actually one of the newer buildings, so it looks like an ‘60s elementary school with the old-type paneling. They really played up the kind of ‘60s kitsch that went along with it.”

Schriner-Hooper and her husband, Alan Hooper, bought the former Dard Plumbing building on Center Street and are currently renovating it. “The Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Northern Environment, and the Michigan Autism Society will be in there, so that’s 30 new people coming to Old Town,” she noted.

There are also other new condo developments, including River North, which will be at the corner of Turner Street and Grand River Avenue.

“There will be nine condos with commercial space on the first floor, and six of the condos are already sold without final plans,” said Schriner-Hooper. “People are eager to move down here.”

The Darius Moon building on the river at 200 East Grand River Avenue is being renovated, and Ciesa Design has already moved in with five new lofts going upstairs. The old Capital City Blue Print building on Center Street is being converted into an art deco design, and the former Tom’s Antiques (or more formerly known as the D & C store) on Grand River has been redone.

“They’re putting in three new storefronts and a rentable photography studio with a kitchen in it,” said Schriner-Hooper. The store building sale included all of the items inside, so many of those will be used for props.

According to Schriner-Hooper, Old Town’s redevelopment is accomplished mainly through the voluntary efforts of its members. “Most of the funding is through sponsorships and putting on the festivals,” she said. “A small amount also comes from the Principal Shopping District. We were also designated a Michigan Main Street program area under Gov. Granholm’s Cool Cities initiative. It’s not actual funding, but it’s all kinds of technical assistance, and it’s helped us out in a lot of ways.

“It’s a very diverse group of people here with different areas of expertise that have really helped us get so many of these projects done,” she continued. “They want to see the community improve, and they know they have to pitch in, and everyone is willing to do that.”