In his State of the City Address, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor underscored the city’s continued progress and laid out his administration’s priorities for the coming year. He highlighted progress in affordable housing, economic and workforce development, neighborhood revitalization, infrastructure, education, and public safety.
One of the Mayor’s top priorities is housing, with a substantial investment of $4.7 million planned for 2025. The city is adding over 100 affordable housing units for low-income families through the Lansing Housing Commission. The New Vision Lansing project will also introduce five mixed-income and mixed-use buildings, providing 570 new apartments. Mayor Schor announced a new housing rehabilitation initiative in partnership with Capital Area Community Services, offering grants of up to $40,000 for low-income homeowners to make critical repairs, ensuring safe and sustainable living conditions.
In 2024, Lansing’s economic development team approved new development projects totaling nearly $463 million in investments, creating 139 jobs and 579 housing units. Mayor Schor highlighted Neogen’s $208 million expansion in downtown Lansing as another transformational investment. Furthermore, the city’s facade improvement grants have enhanced small businesses citywide, distributing more than $150,000 in matching grants to revitalize storefronts and improve curb appeal. Over the past seven years, Lansing has seen 62 new development projects totaling over $4.3 billion in investments.
Mayor Schor noted progress with public safety efforts, sharing that crime rates have declined over the past year. Reports of gunshots dropped by 32%, robberies decreased by 27%, and burglaries fell by 16%. The city’s Violent Crime Initiative is actively removing illegal firearms from the streets and ensuring that violent offenders face justice. Additionally, the Advance Peace Initiative, which deploys violence interrupters to prevent retaliation and conflict, has expanded beyond southwest Lansing into other neighborhoods and schools. The Mayor also emphasized the importance of intervention and prevention programs, such as the youth worker initiative, which provides employment opportunities for young people to keep them engaged and out of harm’s way.
Watch the Mayor’s full remarks here.
