BWL to build $26M REO Town substation
Project to include recreational improvements
LANSING - Plans for a $26 million Lansing Board of Water & Light central substation in REO Town would bridge a divide between downtown Lansing and the historic district, officials said.
The substation will be located on a 4-acre portion of Scott Park at the southwest corner of South Washington Avenue and West Malcolm X Street, BWL officials announced at a press conference on Monday.
The plan calls for several area recreational improvements, including viewing and fishing platforms along the Grand River, a walkway from Washington Avenue to Townsend Street, loop trails connecting the existing pedestrian system to proposed walkways, and a new pathway from Capitol Avenue to Cooley Gardens, officials said.
It will also include a new staircase connecting the River Trail to Washington Avenue and wayfinding signs on Malcolm X Street, Washington Avenue and Townsend Street, they said. The plan will replace existing parking lots in poor condition and include new landscaping for the Scott Park.
"What we've come up with conceptually incorporates REO Town's history and the spirit of Michigan's capital," Dick Peffley, the utility's general manager, said. Peffley said Scott Park is in close proximity to transmission lines that serve downtown Lansing.
BWL officials said the 98-year-old Scott House, which sits on the site proposed for the substation, will be moved or razed, though its fixtures would be salvaged in the latter case. The 4,600-square-foot house is owned by the city. The project also will relocate and upgrade Scott Sunken Garden. It is expected to create jobs for about 75 construction workers during the life of the project.
Local approvals are pending for the plan.
"A regular substation was not going to do it," Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero said. "This is in fact a key between downtown and REO Town."
The project is expected to break ground late this summer or early fall, and take about two years to complete. It will be paid for through BWL's existing construction fund dollars and, on its own, is not expected to cause rate increases, Peffley said.
Proposed exterior building design features include an image of an Oldsmobile visible from Malcolm X Street, and large automobile gears and pillars reading "REO Town" visible from Washington Avenue.
The BWL will seek public input for the design of the substation's exterior walls.
Officials said the substation project is part of Lansing Energy Tomorrow, the BWL’s major electric modernization program to replace and upgrade aging infrastructure.
The effort also includes a five-year, $101 million project, already underway, that will include new transmission lines, five new or rebuilt substations, a reduction in the number of circuits and the amount of customer demand at the Eckert substation and additional capacitor banks on the BWL’s transmission system.
The Eckert plant, with its three iconic smokestacks, must close by 2020 because of environmental regulations and the expense required to make needed improvements.
Poll offers BWL Eckert Plant replacement feedback
There's a sense of urgency among BWL officials to find a replacement because the plant generates about one-third of the energy in the city-owned utility's service territory.
In a survey of 400 residential and 300 business customers that was released last month, BWL found "strong support" for replacing the Eckert Power Plant with "a balanced energy mix" that would include a natural gas-powered plant and renewable energy sources like solar and wind.
The survey, conducted by Lansing-based firm EPIC-MRA, also found the majority of customers support boosting programs and technologies that improve energy conservation and efficiency.
The poll's margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage point. Results from EPIC-MRA's BWL survey can be found at http://www.lansingenergytomorrow.com.
Contact Christopher Behnan at (517) 377-1261 or cbehnan@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter@LansingCB.
Public input
The Lansing Board of Water & Light will seek public input for the design of a planned substation's exterior walls 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the REO Town Depot, 1201 S. Washington Avenue.