LANSING — University of Michigan Health Sparrow is looking to build a $97.2 million psychiatric facility at the site of the old Lansing Eastern High School.
Health officials announced Friday that they have asked the state to approve a certificate of need for 120 beds, a necessary step for the hospital system to expand, and if the state approves it, the University of Michigan Board of Regents will be asked to sign off on the proposal.
University of Michigan officials said the former high school campus, located due northeast of Sparrow’s Michigan Avenue main campus, is a suitable location because of its proximity to the existing hospital and emergency department at 1215 E. Michigan Ave.
The high school building on the east side of the hospital has been closed for years, and “the interior is so dilapidated that it would be unsafe and too expensive to house any services there,” spokesman John Follen said in a statement.
The health system said the project involves working with the school’s alumni and community members to preserve the school’s history, and that it plans to present a final proposal to the university’s board of trustees in the coming months.
Three letters of intent sent to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services in May detailed the request.
The three distinct parts of the new facility, each under a separate letter of intent, are as follows:
- 10 adult inpatient beds
- 24 child and adolescent beds
- 37 adult special pool beds (for geriatric, mentally ill, and other needs)
The two-story space to house these three beds will be approximately 98,455 square feet and will also include unused areas for future purposes, activity/dining space, a gym, outdoor activity yard, outpatient program space and areas for administrative, inpatient, medical and support staff.
The Lansing School Board unanimously approved the sale of Eastern High School in January 2016 to the Edward W. Sparrow Hospital Association.
The agreement called for the district to receive $2.5 million for the 18 acres on which Eastern sits. The district was given rent-free use for up to five years to relocate students to the new building. During the relocation period, the district would remain responsible for paying utilities and other costs associated with maintaining the building.
Following the approval, tensions over the future of the district’s high schools stretched back more than a decade.
Patengill Academy closed in mid-2018 for renovations to become the new Eastern High School. The building at 626 Marshall Street opened in fall 2019 for grades 7-12.
Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415.
