The former Eastern High School on Pennsylvania Ave. (EHS), built in 1928, was sold to the former Sparrow Health System in 2016. Students were moved to the new Eastern building in 2019. University of Michigan Health-Sparrow (UMHS) of Lansing is the result of a merge of Sparrow Health System and University of Michigan Health that took place in 2023. In June 2024, UMHS announced plans to demolish the entirety of EHS, one of Lansing’s few remaining iconic historic structures, in order to build a $97.2 million psychiatric facility on the site. 

     Almost immediately following the news, a coalition of Eastern alumni, preservationists, historians, community leaders and activists formed to collaborate with UMHS to envision a modified site plan that includes the preservation of Eastern’s west wing and the Jon Young auditorium, while still realizing the full potential of the proposed psychiatric facility. Attempts at collaboration have been largely unsuccessful, but the Coalition to Preserve Eastern High School and Promote Mental Health still firmly believes this could be a win-win scenario for both the mental health and well-being of the Lansing community, and the cultural, social, and historical character of the community and city that UMHS serves. 

Click here to sign a petition in support of the preservation of the west wing and the auditorium of old Eastern High School, and the development of new mental & behavioral health services in Lansing.