Lansing’s Gaslight Village Apartments in process of renovation after major fire last year

At the February board of trustees meeting, apartment complex managers, tenants and village of Lansing elected officials discussed the future of a building at the Gaslight Village Apartments complex.

One of the buildings in the complex, building 12, burned down back in December, displacing tenants and rendering the building unsafe for human habitation. The village board held a public hearing at its February meeting, ultimately voting unanimously to declare the structure at 37 Uptown Rd. unsafe and ordering its repair or removal.

The structure fire necessitated responses from several fire departments in the area.

“First arriving units found heavy smoke and moderate fire in a second floor apartment,” according to a statement from the Lansing Fire Department. “A total of five engines, one aerial, one heavy rescue and multiple support vehicles responded, along with 28 firefighters from several agencies involved.”

No injuries to firefighters or civilians were reported.

John Kennedy, the regional manager for the building’s owners — the Solomon Group — provided some updates during the February meeting.

“With a fire of this size, engineers came in, gave us what the scope is of the work they think needs to be performed,” Kennedy said. “We have had a couple companies that have come in to look at asbestos remediation.” 

In total, six units were affected, and all tenants were relocated the following day to other units at the same complex. Kennedy said that there is asbestos in four of the units. Those apartments are unsalvageable. Units B and D in the building could be recovered after some remediation work.

“That was the blessing in this — that no one was hurt and everybody was able to get a new tenancy, which is fairly unusual,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy also spoke about the potential recovery of valuables from the affected apartments.

“Once we get some releases from our legal department, we can look into getting important items to tenants,” he said, adding that the company will not allow access back into the building until the structure is deemed safe.

Solomon has already received quotes from multiple contractors who can perform remediation work and expects to have finalized estimates by the end of February.

“Then, we can put in an application with the village for a demolition permit,” he said. “We are weeks away from the actual start date, but we have done the legwork to get there at this point.” 

Kennedy said that tenants are looking to retrieve their valuables, but fire department officials and the company have not allowed tenants in until the structure is in better shape. 

“Other than the day after the fire, when the fire marshall allowed access to get life-saving items, those are the only things that have been removed,” Kennedy said.

Village Mayor Ronny Hardaway asked Kennedy when the restoration would be done. 

“How long will it take to get all the work done, with the remediation, rebuilding, and when will it be open for tenants?” Hardaway asked.

Kennedy said that will largely depend on the contracting company Solomon picks to perform renovations. 

“Once the company goes through a contracting process, the remediation process will take several months,” he added. 

The company budgeted for nine months of lost revenue back in December, which Kennedy said should be indicative of how long the full restoration will take.

“We would be comfortable with major renovations in four months,” Kennedy said. “But as we go to contract on some of these items and projects, that may bump up our timeline or back it up a little bit.”

A tenant at Gaslight who lived on the top floor of building 12 and preferred not to be named for this article said that she was worried about her valuables, as well as the insurance claims process.

“We cannot request an insurance claim because the company is requesting pictures and we cannot actually touch the top floor until things are abated,” she said.

Spaulding is a student at Cornell University who will graduate in May.

“My whole life is up there,” she said. “I want to be able to finish school and not be stuck with a bill I can’t afford.”

Hardaway said he sympathized with the tenant.

“I am sorry for your loss…I would hate to think what would happen if my home burned and I couldn’t get in to retrieve the things I have,” he noted. “I understand that many of them have special memories to you.”

In brief: 

Lansing Community Library is set to host its next Book Club for Adults meeting on March 12. Attendees are invited to discuss Neil Gaiman’s thrilling book “Snow, Glass, Apples.” The discussion starts at 7 p.m. and runs until 8 p.m.

“The LCL Book Club offers a friendly and welcoming environment where you can share your thoughts and opinions,” the library’s website states. “Join us for a fun and engaging discussion. We hope to see you there!” 

For more information on Book Club for Adults, residents can contact Bobbie Weaver at bobbiew@lansinglibrary.org.