Restoration Works gives blighted home new life

Three years ago, two homes in Lansing's Eastside were on the verge of collapse. Both sat empty except for the squirrels and raccoons that had taken up residence. Rumors circulated that one had been a meth lab. It was time, community organizers knew, to reclaim the nearly century-old family homes.
 
In partnership with the Allen Neighborhood Center and the Ingham County Land Bank, Lansing Community College began transforming the tax-foreclosed houses. Faculty set up shop in the 1500 block of East Kalamazoo Street. Students made one of the two homes their classroom. And hammers began to swing as the Restoration Works project got underway to conquer blight in a city neighborhood.
 
"We've done everything from reconstruction, roofing and siding to redoing the kitchen, bathrooms, floors and drywall," says Jim Lynch, director of LCC's Design and Construction Technologies Program and project coordinator for Restoration Works. "We also did some electrical and energy efficiency work."
 
Lynch says students from all seven areas of the College's Design and Construction Technologies Program have helped restore the first home at 1512 E. Kalamazoo St. By taking the lab component of courses to a real-world setting, Lynch says, students have been able to put their learning to the test and contribute to the community.
 
"Our students can now drive down the street and say 'I worked on that house,'" says Lynch. "There's pride involved. People can point to something and say they made a difference."
 
Lynch says that LCC also helps facilitate workshops on home improvement at the project site. Workshops focus on window glazing, dry walling or flooring, and show homeowners what they can do to update and fix-up their houses.
 
"Older homes are great," says Lynch. "They're built well, they have character. And that's the benefit. They're typically solid structures that you're simply giving a facelift."
 
Today, the first of the two homes owned by the Land Bank is nearly ready for sale. Volunteers from the Allen Neighborhood Center are finishing up the interior painting and exterior landscaping. Plans are to have a community-wide open house and put the house on the market by mid- to late July. Proceeds from the home sale, Lynch says, will go to fund the rehabilitation of the second Restoration Works home at 1501 E. Kalamazoo St.
 
"We're really looking forward to getting started on the next house," says Lynch. "We learned a lot and hope to be more creative with the second."
 
Source: Jim Lynch, LCC Project Coordinator, Restoration Works
Writer: Ann Kammerer, Development News Editor