Legislators approve purchase of police headquarters

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The Michigan State Police plans to move from its headquarters on 714 S. Harrison Road to Lansing next year, after legislators approved a $71 million building purchase as part of the state police budget.

But with the state facing a $2.8 billion budget deficit, some question whether forgoing a $1 per month lease in favor of a multimillion dollar purchase is the right decision.

The decision to purchase and not lease the building signals a “partial victory,” Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, said.

“(It’s) saving money, but I still think we should not be buying buildings or leasing buildings in a time of need,” he said. “We need money for things like education. I think the whole thing is a boondangle.”

Patty Russ, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Management and Budget, said police plan to move to the new building in January.

The state currently leases the Harrison Road building for $1 per year but has been considering leasing the Lansing building at a rate of $400,000 per month for at least two years.

Under the state police budget approved last Thursday, the state of Michigan instead will purchase the building, saving about $30 million. Leasing the building would have cost more than $3 million per year, approaching a cost of about $100 million at the end of the 25-year agreement.

The state proposed the deal because the current building is about 75 years old and “obsolete,” said MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson, one of the Lansing building’s developers. He said the controversy among legislators over whether they should purchase the building never hit his radar.

“I had a contract,” he said. “I knew we were going to get it done.”

The state police budget has not yet been sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for approval, but the governor will consider what will create the most financial success for Michigan, Granholm spokeswoman Megan Brown said. Brown declined to comment further, saying the governor did not wish to speculate on bills that have not reached her desk.

The move has been the subject of controversy among several legislators, who argued the government should not be leasing or purchasing new buildings in a time of financial strain.

The $71 million legislators propose to spend on the building represents more than half of the $140 million cut to funding for the Michigan Promise Scholarship, but the money being spent on the new building comes from a “separate pot” than the money designated for higher education spending, said state Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing.

Meadows, who initially opposed the headquarters relocation, said he approved it in the end because the investment already had been made and the building already had been built.

“Once the investment was made and somebody invested $32 million (to build it), it’s a question of whether the mortgage can be fulfilled,” he said.

Meadows said if the state had not gone through with its contract to lease the building, it would have damaged Michigan’s credibility in future contracts.

Russ said the Harrison Road building is in need significant repairs, including heating, roofing, electrical, plumbing and masonry.

But Jones said the building is fully functional and he’s heard MSU officials speak of several ideas for how to use the “beautiful” building that will be left vacant when state police move to Lansing.

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