Stevie Wonder could revisit School for the Blind roots

LANSING - If an Indianapolis-based developer resurrects the old Michigan School for the Blind site for a housing project, don't be surprised if the school's most famous alumnus shows up to honor his alma mater.

An effort is underway to get Motown legend Stevie Wonder in town for an event that could take place once a $24.4 million project by TWG Development LLC is complete. TWG, which specializes in development at historic sites, plans for 132 housing units at the former school, using two historic buildings and one new structure.

The project at the 40-acre campus at Willow and Pine streets was announced Tuesday at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, which is housed in the building where the school's library was located and where a piano used by Wonder was found.

"It's a possibility," said Julie Powers, the center's executive director, when asked about a Wonder visit. "We have to put some details together."

Powers was in contact with Wonder's management group about a year ago, when a representative told her the 25-time Grammy Award winner is interested in revisiting his School for the Blind roots. Powers said she was told by the representative that Wonder "cares very much" about the institution's history.

The School for the Blind moved from Flint to Lansing in 1880 and closed in 1995. The few remaining students were moved to Flint.

Keith Harris, Wonder's manager, told the Lansing State Journal in an e-mail Tuesday night he'll pass on to Wonder the news of TWG's project and the interest from Lansing's elected officials and community leaders about having him visit the city.

"I will make sure that this information gets to Stevie," Harris wrote.

Wonder has his own star on the Michigan Walk of Fame located along downtown Lansing's Washington Square. The piano found at the former library site that Wonder used as a student was rehabbed and is on display at the Michigan Historical Museum.

Joe Whitsett, CEO of  Indianapolis-based TWG Development, said he'll do all he can to get Wonder to visit once the project is complete. Construction could begin this fall and take at least a year to complete.

"We're excited about that," said Whitsett, about a potential Wonder visit. "We'd probably bring everyone up from our company if that happens."

Wonder's last visit to Lansing was in 2006 when he visited the Michigan Historical Museum and played the piano. Wonder said at the event he wrote the song "My Cherie Amour" in Lansing while he was a School for the Blind student.

Sandra Clark, the Michigan Historical Center's director, attended the event and said Wonder's ties to the school still evoke "tremendous" pride. "When I heard him the night he was here, I just got goosebumps," Clark said.

TWG's project — if approved by the state of Michigan and Lansing City Council — would construct 72 units of family housing and 60 units of senior housing on the former school's campus.

Two buildings on the campus would be saved for the project — the Abigail building and the former high school. An auditorium would be demolished and help make way for a new structure with family housing on the campus perimeter along Willow Street.

Whitsett said he'd also like to get feedback from as many former School for the Blind teachers, students and employees as possible to make sure the project will honor the site's history. A public meeting about the project is set  at 6 p.m. Jan. 28 at the Neighborhood Empowerment Center, 600 W. Maple St.

TWG is currently in the first phase of redeveloping the old Indianapolis Star newspaper building into a mixed-use project called Pulliam Square.

"We really dug into the history of that building," Whitsett said of the old Star building. "We found all these prints of people working the printing machines, people doing the typeset, and they are all over our lobby area."

Powers, the Neighborhood Empowerment Center's executive director, is excited about the buzz about redevelopment of the School for the Blind. She describes the school as a place where students felt at home — before mainstreaming into public schools became the norm.

"This campus means so much for them," Powers said. "For a lot of them, (attending the school) was the only time they felt accepted."

Loyalty to the school and the K-12 services it provided helped create the Blind Children's Fund, a Lansing-based non-profit organization that includes board members who were former students and teachers. The board meets at the center monthly.

Dianna Popp, the Blind Children's Fund's executive director, said board members have mementos from the school, like photos and wrestling team jackets. There are a few teachers in the organization who taught Wonder in class.

"It would be really exciting for our organization and our board members to reconnect and bring awareness about the fact that being blind doesn’t limit you," Popp said about a potential Wonder visit.

The Abigail building, also known as "Old Main," was considered the focal point of the school's 40-acre campus and served as an administration building. The building originally housed the entire student body and school offices, according to a historical marker at the site.

"I spend every day, eight to 10 hours a day here, Monday through Friday looking at those buildings falling apart." Powers said of the school's existing, vacant structures. "There are elements that can be preserved. There are terrazzo marble floors that are in amazing shape; the buildings are still solid."

The Abigail building and high school are on the state's register of historic properties, according to documents posted on the City of Lansing's website. The TWG Development company seeks state tax credits to redevelop the historic sites.

A press release Tuesday from Bernero's office  said a previous plan to renovate the Abigail building was "stalled by the failure to secure tax credits that were instrumental to its success."

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.