Tuesday, July 7, 1998
TOWERING CHANGES
MICHIGAN NATIONAL TOWER’S NEW OWNER INHERITS A TALL HISTORY
By A.J. Evenson
Louie Boji knew the economic gain when he bought the Michigan National Bank Tower in May:
A 250,000-square-foot structure, a stone’s thrown from the Capitol. In a downtown hungering fro office space. Fully leased.
What the Farmington developer didn’t readily recognize was the daunting presence and deep heritage of Lansing’s tallest building.
From top – a 24-karat gold leaf dome carved into the top floor conference room, also crested atop a 12-by-13-foot conference table that seats 39 people.
To bottom – a basement bank vault that still holds the safe deposit boxes once used by the R.E. Olds family.
“It’s a landmark of Lansing,” said Boji, who became the building’s third owner in May with the $11.25 million purchase.
He follows Michigan National Bank, which bought the structure form R.E. Olds in the 1940s and added a 10-story addition to its east side.
Boji doesn’t plan any major changes to the 25-story building, which will keep the Michigan National name. But there are some.
Renovations to the 22nd and 23rd floors – used as conference rooms and meeting places – to update furnishings and install state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment, such as a large-screen TV and computer networks.
The basement will be gutted and remodeled to include and exercise facility for employees of the building’s 35 tenants, which include two major law firms, state workers and lobbyist groups.
Boji also is working with the Board of Water and Light to devise a way to illuminate the building’s historical clock tower.
Other changes may include additions on the building’s northwest and east sides. That would provide further office space, which is a t a premium downtown, said Todd Brunst, president of DMR Commercial Real Estate Services, which will manage the building.
“We are here with an open mind to work with the city and the state – to keep the building in tip-top shape,” Boji said.
The purchase – the Boji family’s second major development locally – came as the number of Michigan National Bank employees downtown were dwindling.
While the bank employs 700 to 800 people locally, only a small number work in the tower. The change in ownership does not affect branch operations.
In August 1996, the Bojis bought the former Ingham County Democratic Building at Cedar Street and Jolly Road.