- Downtown Lansing Inc. has worked with numerous businesses in the Lansing neighborhood to develop them and work towards a storefront in the heart of Downtown.
- Neva Lee's was one of those businesses but after concerns with the building that they were placed in, Neva Lee's is now voicing their concerns around DLI and 109 South Washington Square.
- In the attached story, I sat down with one of the owners, Faun Donald, and also heard from DLI officials regarding these claims.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
109 South Washington Square used to be the home of the former business Neva Lee's but as you can see they're no longer here.
I'm your Lansing neighborhood reporter Asya Lawrence here with the owner who broke down the building issues that led them here.
"I have always been involved in plants basically since my first job out of high school, so I finally was like alright I guess we'll make a little dream for ourselves," said Faun Donald.
Faun Donald is one of the former owners of Neva Lee's plant shop in Lansing and a former Downtown Lansing Inc., or DLI, business recruit, part of an effort to strengthen that area of downtown.
She recently sent us an email about her experience with DLI in 2022 and I got to sit down with her to hear those concerns.
"You have to be your own advocate, unfortunately," she said.
Donald and her business were previously in a storefront outside of Downtown on Kalamazoo Street.
"It was booming, we had great customers," Donald said.
She says DLI leaders then recruited her to 109 South Washington Square but Donald told me that once they agreed to move there, she found that the building had plumbing issues bad enough that she ultimately left the property.
The landlord sued her because she decided to break her lease.
"Where do things stand with your business now?" I asked Faun.
"There is no business, we are businessless," she responded.
I found out that the landlord is based out of the state, but I wasn't able to reach them for comment.
I also checked for code enforcement violations at the building and found there were 3 older code enforcements that have since been resolved. There were no open violations listed in the time Neva Lee was using the building.
"We could not complete our business model and use the full space we were paying thousands of dollars for," Donald said.
Downtown Lansing Inc. says this isn't the only time that DLI has heard concerns regarding buildings in historic downtown.
DLI says participants of the new Middle Village space inside the Atrium building also expressed frustrations.
DLI was not available for an interview but did share a statement with me saying in part,
"Regarding claims with the new Middle Village space, we shared some of the same frustrations as our tenants and worked with the landlord and IT providers to get the space finalized. In an effort to make up for the delays, rent was waived at the beginning of the program."
DLI also said they "Do not get involved in contracts between businesses and other third parties."
Regarding Neva Lee's, the DLI statement said the business received more than double the grant funds that were initially sought.
DLI told me over the past year they have been working to improve Downtown for a better future.
A goal shared by Donald, even if she won't be a part of it.
"We just wanted people to know this is what's happening so voices can speak up so that it doesn't continue to happen and positive change can happen," Donald said.
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