Three of four prospective Lansing City Hall developers have donated to Mayor Schor

LANSING — Mayor Andy Schor has received campaign donations from people associated with three of the four companies vying to develop a new Lansing City Hall. 

Since 2008, Schor received at least $7,739 from key people connected to the developers, according to a Lansing State Journal review of local and state campaign finance records.

"I appreciate the support of those who donated to my campaign for office and have supported my vision for Lansing," Schor said in an emailed statement. "I received contributions from hundreds of donors, all who will benefit from a great Lansing. All of these contributions were reported as it is required by law. Any choice we make on any incentive or project is based solely on what is best for the City of Lansing."

During the 2017 general election cycle, Schor received more than $357,400 in campaign contributions, according to his post-election report.

The Lansing State Journal previously reported that former Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero received roughly $17,750 over the same time period from leaders affiliated with the four developers. Bernero ultimately chose a proposal from a development group that had not donated to his campaigns.

Bernero was mayor from 2006 through 2017. Schor took office Jan. 1, having previously served as a state representative and an Ingham County commissioner.

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Bernero had championed relocation of City Hall, arguing the decades-old building was outdated and expensive to maintain.

Four development companies, Beitler Real Estate Services, Urban Systems LLC/WestPac Communities, Karp and Associates LLC and Boji Group LLC, responded last year to Bernero's request for City Hall proposals.

The former mayor chose Beitler's plan, which involved building a hotel at the current City Hall site on West Michigan Avenue and renovating the former Lansing State Journal building on East Lenawee Street into a new City Hall.

Neither Bernero nor Schor received campaign donations from top figures with Beitler Real Estate, a Chicago-based organization.

Although Schor still plans to move forward with Beitler's hotel proposal at the existing City Hall site, he has since invited the four developers to resubmit plans for a new City Hall building. Those supplemental proposals are due today.

Schor will collaborate with the Lansing Economic Area Partnership, a nonprofit, and CBRE Lansing, a real estate services company, to choose a City Hall proposal, according to the city.

Of the four developers, Schor received the heftiest total contribution — $4,650 — from people associated with the Boji Group proposal.

By comparison, Bernero received about $16,500 from top Boji associates over 10 years.

In its 2017 proposal, the Lansing-based Boji Group said it would use Christman Co. as a construction manager, C2AE as a civil engineering firm and Gillespie Group as a residential expert. Boji Group President Ron Boji said the supplemental proposal will name those same business partners.

Steven Roznowski, Christman president CEO, gave $2,000 to Schor's 2017 mayoral campaign.

William Kimble, principal at C2AE, donated $300 to that campaign.

Pat Gillespie, Gillespie group president, gave $2,000 to Schor's 2017 run for mayor. Gillespie also donated $250 in 2016 and $100 in 2012 to Schor's campaigns for state representative. 

Tiffany Dowling, a Gillespie Group spokeswoman, said Pat Gillespie was proud to back Schor. The selection process will be fair, Dowling said.

"As longtime business owner and investor in this city, I supported Andy Schor both for mayor and state representative," Boji said. "He's someone who cares about the best interests of this city, so it wouldn't surprise me that our team would support him."

Boji said he didn't believe donations would influence the scoring of supplemental proposals, but added he hoped the city would choose a local company.

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People connected to the Okemos-based Urban Systems donated at least $2,089 to Schor, according to campaign finance reports.

Jeff Deehan, Urban Systems principal, donated $500 to Schor's 2017 mayoral bid.

Another principal with Urban Systems, Brent Forsberg gave Schor $1,189 in 2017, which includes $589 worth of food donated for a fundraiser.

Additionally, business associates Dennis and Kenneth Forsberg, who are Brent Forsberg's father and uncle, respectively, donated $200 each to Schor in 2017.

Brent Forsberg laughed at the notion that $2,089 would be enough to influence a political decision.

"I donate small amounts to just about every local candidate," Brent Forsberg said. "It's more just about showing support to people who want to make a difference in this area."

Brent Forsberg said he hasn't worked directly with the mayor during the proposal process and instead communicated through CBRE Real Estate, the firm hired by the city.

The only donation to Schor connected to the Lansing-based Karp and Associates appears to be $1,000 from CEO Richard Karp in 2017. 

A city spokeswoman said the mayor doesn't have a budget for building a new City Hall, adding that a cost estimate would depend on the supplemental proposals due today.

Beitler's 2017 proposal suggested a new City Hall could be built for no more than $40 million, not including the cost to construct separate facilities for 54A District Court, a Lansing Police administration building and a Lansing Police lock-up.

City officials say proceeds from the transfer of the old City Hall site to Beitler Real Estate would partially offset the cost of a new building. A 2015 appraisal set a $4.2 million price for the existing City Hall.

It would take six votes from City Council to approve the long-term leasing of the property to Beitler Real Estate.

Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.