Accident Fund’s $182 Million Moving Will Bring Neighbors

The Accident Fund Insurance Company, of Lansing, is going to spend $182 million to move its new headquarters into the historic riverfront Ottawa Power Station. The Accident Fund is the first in a series of new riverfront developments and will soon be joined by other booming businesses.

According to excerpts from the article:

Developer Pat Gillespie formally unveiled a nearly $60 million plan this afternoon for two developments - Market Place and Ballpark North - that encompass nearly eight acres from the Grand River to Larch Street.

Gillespie said he was pursuing a much smaller project until he started to hear about Accident Fund's plans.

"Once momentum starts, it's hard to stop it," Gillespie said.

"I heard this rumbling and said, 'Now I've got to work on this.' "

An earlier version of Gillespie's project, which he shared with the Lansing State Journal, included a new riverfront City Market, housing and retail space on the market's current site. But it was a much less dense project, with surface parking lots instead of a parking garage.

And it neglected Oldsmobile Park, he said. Gillespie already owns some land north of the minor league baseball stadium, but his earlier development plan didn't include any new buildings next to the park.

Read the entire article here.