Federal funds helping turn old junior high into affordable housing units

• The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is helping Lansing officials turn an old school into new housing
• Those housing units will be for low-income families and is scheduled to open in 2025
• Video shows Biden Administration official and Lansing mayor touring the building while hearing community input on ARP funds

A new chapter is opening for an old junior high school now destined to see new life in its 100th anniversary.
Walter H. French Junior High School has sat on the corner of Cedar Street and Mt. Hope Avenue since 1925 serving countless of students until its closure in 1981.

Seven years after receiving the building through a donation, Capital Area Housing Partnership is one year away from opening the Walter French apartment complex.

Organizers with the partnership say the building will be a state-of-the-art mixed-use facility that will have 76 affordable rental units for low-income households.

The building will also house a child care center with a capacity of 100 children and become the partnership's new home for operations.

Tom Perez, a senior advisor and assistant to President Joe Biden, came to Lansing Tuesday afternoon to tour the building along with Lansing Mayor Andy Schor.

"We got to meet them where they are," Perez said. "If you have housing and you don't have childcare nearby you're not going to solve the problem for so many families."

PHOTO: RENDERING FROM CAPITAL AREA HOUSING PARTNERSHIP SHOWING THE FRONT EXTERIOR OF WHAT THE FINISHED BUILDING WOULD LOOK LIKE

Capital Area Housing Partnership

CAHP says it secured $6.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to help renovate the building and provide more affordable housing.

"That's what it's all about. making sure we continue these investments to help communities," Perez said.

Schor says repurposing old buildings like the junior high school helps maintain the city's history.

"We like people to come and say 'I remember, this was where my daughter did gymnastics," Schor said. "History is who you are. It's your legacy. It's your past."

Schor said the city had been discussing other possible projects involving the renovation of some of its older buildings.

The housing complex is scheduled to open in 2025 when the building turns 100-years old.

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