For many years, Lansing’s citizens have looked at the old Ottawa Street Power Station, built in 1939 and decommissioned in 1992, and imagined what it would become.
Condos, retail space, an office building—ideas were proposed and then discarded, and the structure remained vacant and unused. It took Accident Fund Insurance and The Christman Company to channel imagination and innovative thinking into a new and exciting reality for Downtown Lansing. Come 2011, what was abandoned space will be the corporate headquarters for Accident Fund Insurance, and another beautifully restored, renovated and repurposed building project will be added to The Christman Company’s long list of accomplishments.

Both Accident Fund and The Christman Company have deep roots in Lansing. The Accident Fund Insurance Company was founded here in 1912 and is one of the nation’s largest workers’ compensation insurers with over $3 billion in assets. A wholly owned subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan, Accident Fund operates in 49 states. The Christman Company was founded in 1894 and provides construction management, general contracting, design/build services, real estate development, facilities consulting services and skilled trades. Its reputation in historic preservation and restoration is outstanding, and it has worked throughout the United States on such projects. When the Accident Fund and Christman began looking into the original plans for the facility, it was discovered that the company that had excavated the site and laid the foundation in 1939 was…The Christman Company!

When the Ottawa Street Power Station was first built, it was state of the art for 1939. Called the Power Tower by the Lansing State Journal, it opened to public praise and an outpouring of community pride.  A message from the Lansing Bank printed in the Lansing State Journal on the day of the grand opening said, “On the important occasion, we join with the people of Lansing and rightfully take pride in this outstanding power development and the keen foresight of the men whose endeavors are reflected in this great achievement.”  

According to Power Plant Engineering magazine in its October 1939 issue, “Embracing every successful feature of a decade of high pressure development, Ottawa Street Station, Lansing is probably the most outstanding plant built in this country in years.”

The station served the community well for many years.  It was decommissioned in 1992, becoming what was essentially an empty building with a steel skeleton and catwalk system. In 2001, cooling towers were installed in part of the building, and the facility served as a water chilling plant serving Downtown Lansing.
Conversations between Accident Fund and The Christman Company’s affiliate, Christman Capital Development Company, began in 2006. According to Accident Fund’s Steve Reynolds, vice president strategic planning and corporate secretary and executive in charge of this project, “Prior to that, in 2004/2005, Accident Fund recognized that, based on our growth projections, we were going to outgrow our present building. We began talking with Christman about what would be available to us.”

James Cash, president of Christman Capital Development Company, says, “We wanted to look at all available sites downtown as well as sites farther afield, and Accident Fund had asked that we include the Ottawa Street Power Station in our search.”Reynolds adds, “That was only one of a dozen or so sites that we considered. This one was our final choice based on several criteria. First, we had a strong commitment to Lansing and wanted to have our new headquarters located here. We are a Lansing company, a Michigan company. Our success started here, and we had a strong desire to stay here. Secondly, it was in the middle in terms of cost; it wasn’t the least expensive or the most expensive. This supported our goals of long-term growth. Also, it gave us a great opportunity to provide a world-class workplace that supports and enhances our image. We now have about 690 employees; we anticipate adding another 500 within the next ten years, and this facility provides a unique workplace that will help us attract the most talented people. And our current employees are very excited. When we made the announcement, the amount of e-mail we got from employees who were born and raised here was amazing!”

Cash says, “We were extremely impressed with Accident Fund’s vision in their choice. This was very clearly not the easiest way to go. At the beginning, it was hard to see what it could become because you can’t even really stand back and look at the building, at least from the downtown side. But Accident Fund was willing to work with us to turn the shared dream into reality.”

And, indeed, it did take vision and a good imagination to see what the facility could become. According to Reynolds, “The first time I saw it, I said, ‘Holy Smoke!’[or words to that effect].  We definitely had to close our eyes and imagine what it could be. But the historical features like the glazed tiles, the brick, the windows and the quality of light are incredible. Starting with that first day when I walked in and the pigeons were flying around my head, to today when we are seeing that building taking shape into what it can really be, has been a process of discovery.  The Christman designers and our architects really helped us see how great it could be.”

Cash says, “The Christman Company has a strong market in historic preservation, so we’re used to walking into old buildings, but never have I seen anything like this. It was deemed unsafe around the time the new chiller plant was installed in 2001, so an extensive amount of steel bracing was incorporated into the structure--it was different shapes and different colors and it went in all different directions, so it completely cluttered up the interior. It was just chaotic.”
Now ground has been broken, the chiller plant will be relocated this fall, and the work continues as the facility is reclaimed and takes its place in the landscape of the city.

In March of this year, the Ottawa Street Power Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, a list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Cited were the many historic features of the art deco building including the original bronze entry doors, stainless steel stair railings, the stepped window profiles and the exterior granite and brick façade, designed to replicate the colors of burning coal. The colors begin with black, change to purple-gray, deepen to red, then become more brilliant and merge to orange, then to bright yellow and finish with yellow-gray. These features will be preserved as the project takes shape.

The original architects were the Lansing firm Bowd-Munson. Orlie Munson designed many buildings on the Michigan State University campus, including Agriculture Hall, Marshall Hall, Giltner Hall and Spartan Stadium. Erwin Bowd is responsible for the design of the Knapp Building, Masonic Temple (now Cooley Law School) and the Lewis Cass Building.

The design team for the current project are HOK, Inc./Quinn Evans Architects, based in St. Louis. One of the largest architectural firms in the country, HOK has extensive experience in projects of this scope and scale. The design team also includes Ann Arbor-based Quinn Evans Architects.

The project has involved a public/private partnership with a package of tax credits and other tax incentives, making the project financially feasible and bringing with it a positive impact on economic development, not only employing hundreds of craftsmen and construction people over the course of the building project, but also creating new jobs through the expansion of Accident Fund and    collateral economic growth.  

“I want to emphasize that we have had great cooperation throughout this process from the Board of Water & Light, the City of Lansing, the State of Michigan and Michigan EDC, as well as the Department of Environmental Quality; it has been a very collaborative effort that never would have happened without everyone working together,” Cash emphasizes.
The seven-acre campus is situated between Grand Avenue and the Grand River, from Ottawa Street to Shiawassee Street. The nine-story building will measure 227,000 square feet and is planned to house 800 employees. A modern addition, designed to complement the main building, will provide space for an additional 400 employees and will also house the central energy plant. Other features on site include a 1,000-car parking deck, and a 20-foot-wide public linear park along Grand River with improved walkways, lighting, seating and natural beautification. Christman and Accident Fund are both committed to environmental responsibility, and the new facility will be LEED certified. It is anticipated that Accident Fund will move into the facility in spring of 2011.

Interest in the project is intense, and it is possible to watch the progress via a Webcam at www.christmanco.com/portfolio.asp?id=262.

So the wait is over for something exciting to happen with the old Ottawa Street Power Station. Deserted for years, it is now becoming once again a vital part of the community, a source of pride not only for its past glories but also for what it will become.

Author: Jane Whittington
Photography: Roger Boettcher