On May 24, 2006, over 50 residents of Lansing’s Old Forest and Walnut neighborhood gathered at the First Presbyterian Church in Old Town at a town hall meeting sponsored by ACORN regarding Walnut. The residents listened intently to Joe Patino pitch a plan to purchase Walnut School. Most of the residents were unsure of what Mr. Patino’s ultimate plan was for the building and were uncertain about his interest in the property.
Photo captions:Right to left: Walnut area resident,Penny Gardner; Katie Donovan of Donovan & Company and Niowave’s Vice President of Operations,Rick Wade; Beth Grimm, Vice President of Finance; and Terry Grimm, President and CEO standing in front of what they hope will be their new office building. TNCP Photos.
When the deal with Mr. Patino fell through, area residents again faced uncertainty about the school’s fate until a recent meeting in the Old Town Commercial Association’s office.
The news was that Niowave a new high tech research company that specializes in superconducting particle accelerators wanted to purchase Walnut School. Interested residents, Lansing’s Economic Development, local business owners and others gathered to hear about their bid.
Currently, Niowave has 12 employees and hopes that their workforce will exceed 100 in the next five years.
The sale will go before the finance committee and then to the full board for a final vote. If approved, it will take an additional 60 days to finalize the deal.
