By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-865524.mp3
Lansing, MI – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has announced plans to consolidate 250 employees into the current Accident Fund Insurance Company building in downtown Lansing. The move is set to take place in two years.
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Blue Cross says it will relocate its employees from Delta Township and another site in Lansing to the Accident Fund building in 2011. That will coincide with the Accident Fund's move into its future headquarters at the former Ottawa Street Power Station.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan president Daniel Loepp says the decision to move downtown is part of a philosophy to base its operations in urban centers.
"The complexity of putting these deals together is almost mind-boggling as you walk through it," says Loepp. "You know, 20 or 30 or 40 years from now, we can all talk about that commitment and sort of that gutsy decision we collectively made to do that for the region."
The Accident Fund is a Blue Cross subsidiary. Officials say when the transition is complete, Blue Cross will have 1,400 employees in downtown Lansing.