We commend the University of Michigan Health-Sparrow on its desire to build a mental health facility in Lansing. As Dr. John Baker, UM-Sparrow’s psychological services director, wrote in the LSJ, “Our community confronts a burgeoning mental health crisis that we simply don’t have the resources to handle.”

We strongly agree. Such a new facility would be an important step forward.

We also believe this can be accomplished without demolishing old Eastern High School, an architectural and historic landmark treasured by our community for nearly 100 years. Our city deserves both high quality behavioral health and buildings that celebrate our heritage.

To learn more about Eastern, the City’s Historic District Commission, a board appointed by the mayor and approved by City Council, has unanimously recommended to Council that it approve a study committee to determine the appropriateness of Historic District status for Eastern. This would prevent the demolition of this historic structure while a careful, third-party, expert evaluation of whether old Eastern is savable and reusable is conducted. This is especially important given the conflicting information and photos circulating on social media regarding the current state of the former school.

We believe UM-Sparrow has several options available to achieve a win-win that must be explored.

They could blend old with new. Perhaps the celebrated UM Taubman School of Architecture and Urban Planning could determine how to integrate a state-of-the-art behavioral health facility into the old Eastern High School, either entirely or in part, as the Accident Fund did to preserve the BWL building in downtown Lansing.

UM-Sparrow could select an alternative location on its 26-acre East Michigan Avenue campus and construct an entirely new building. We understand that their proposed building and greenspace needs only 9 acres.

Should UM-Sparrow find another location on its campus for a facility, it could sell or adaptively reuse old Eastern as Neogen Corp. has done with Oak Park and Allen Street schools.

Local media recently carried several stories about the creative repurposing of old schools for housing and other community uses. Walter French is becoming Residences at Walter French and Holmes Street School has opened as Blackboard District Apartments.

As the city deals with an acute housing shortage, it might be happy to work with UM-Sparrow to create incentives for a development that would provide much needed housing for seniors, traveling medical personnel and others.

Our Committee to Preserve Historic Eastern and Promote Mental Health is calling on residents to express their support to Lansing City Council for the study committee and emergency moratorium. Emails should be sent to city.council@lansingmi.gov. Check our Friends of Historic Eastern High School FB page for more information.

Our committee, as well as the hundreds of people we have talked with in recent weeks, seeks a win-win solution — one that results in an essential facility for improving mental health while preserving an architectural and historic landmark.

Joan Nelson is the retired executive director of the Allen Neighborhood Center. Ryan Kost is a Lansing City Council member. They are both members of the Committee to Preserve Historic Eastern and Promote Mental Health.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Preserve Eastern High and build mental health facility near Sparrow