East Lansing City Council motioned on a 3-2 vote to close down the Bailey Community Center after almost two hours of public comment.

The Bailey Community Center is located on 300 Bailey St., just north of Grand River Avenue.

“It’s an old school,” City Manager George Lahanas said in an interview last Friday. “It’s in pretty rough shape.”

The community center was originally a multi-story structure constructed in 1922 as an East Lansing public school.

The decision to close down the community center and the childcare program came down to money.

“If we keep operation going through next June 30 (we) will have lost $275,000 on this operation in two years,” Lahanas said. “It’s our view to wind it down and close the building and find another use for the building or get rid of the building.”

It wasn’t all about money for some local residents, who implored council to leave the community center open before the council made their decision late on Tuesday night.

“This park is what allowed our children to meet some of their new best friends after moving across the country,” Erin Graham, an assistant history professor at MSU. She and her two daughters — ages 9 and 11 — live in the Bailey neighborhood. “Childcare is a vital part to any livable community.”

However, money was a factor, which could not be ignored.

“You got to figure out a way where (Bailey Community Center) is going to make money,” East Lansing resident Jeff Baten said.

Baten said student housing would be the best use for the Bailey Community Center. He also said the facility could be used as an art studio.