Here’s Capital Gains’ look at moving to Lansing’s Eastside neighborhood. Also check out our guides to visiting and investing in Eastside Lansing.Lansing’s Eastside neighborhood is one of the most culturally, economically and socially diverse neighborhoods in the greater Lansing area.
Walk down an Eastside street in the winter and you’ll see a cultural collage of headgear, from doo-rags to tweed caps, burkas to saris. You’ll see people of all colors and lifestyles: black women pushing strollers, white men holding hands, and immigrant students clutching piles of law books. The Eastside shopping and entertainment district and its 20 residential neighborhood groups are just as eclectic as the people who maintain them.
But, as you’re about to read, the recipe definitely works.
Homes and neighborhoodsDon’t expect your typical suburban beige-on-beige cookie cutter houses in the Eastside. Expect to see Tudors, farm-style houses dating back to the early 1900s, modern industrial lofts and lots of diversity.
“These neighborhoods were built at a much different time than the suburbs were built,” says long-time resident and family man, David Muylle. “There’s much more of a chance of interacting with your neighbors because people live close together. It’s a walkable community.”
The majority of the residential neighborhoods in Lansing’s Eastside have weathered the dips in the housing market and prices stay relatively stable year after year. The neighborhoods in the Eastside, especially the area just north of Michigan Avenue, have long been known by realtors and residents alike as solid neighborhoods that haven’t suffered from excessive residential turnover.
The area south of Michigan Avenue, between Michigan and Kalamazoo, has also seen a recent surge in home values as young professionals buy and fix up the older homes. Many credit their home-buying choice to the old homes in the Eastside, which give the area character and are popular with an increasing number of do-it-yourselfers.
If a “this old house,” early 1900s house isn’t your cup of tea, the Grosbeck neighborhood farther north on Lansing’s Eastside might be more your style.
Grosbeck contains 1950s-style houses, and is close to tennis courts, parks, walking trails around the popular Tollgate wetlands complex, a golf course and a market.
Convenience and affordabilityCNN Money magazine recently rated the Lansing/East Lansing area the second most affordable housing market in the country. The Eastside area, which is one of Lansing's most popular neighborhoods, attracts a wide cross-section of homebuyers, from young families to college students and professionals.
You’ll find long-time homeowners, as well as nurses and nursing students who live in the Eastside and take advantage of the proximity to
Sparrow Hospital.
Cooley Law school students, Michigan State University (MSU) graduates and state government staffers and agency employees also enjoy the Eastside's proximity to work.
The new
Motor Wheel Lofts and
Prudden Place condos on Saginaw Street are a favorite homestead for young professionals and college students.
These developments are close enough to the River Trail that legislative staffers and state employees can get on the trail and walk to work in the spring, fall and summer. Both the politicos and the hip lofts they occupy add yet another spice to the diverse package that is Lansing’s Eastside.
The Eastside is extremely accessible because it’s wedged between two highways and sits on Michigan Avenue—the main drag between Lansing and East Lansing—that links major employers and institutions in the region like Michigan State University, state government offices , the Capitol and Sparrow Hospital.
Eastsiders abide by a convenience rule, because it takes them 10 minutes or less to drive to schools, restaurants, parks, grocery stores, shopping areas, bus stations, salons, hospitals and libraries. Many Eastside residents can walk to the
Foster Community Center for $1 yoga classes, or to the popular Lansing River Trail in five minutes.
Being able to walk to live music venues, a coffee house, a bookstore, and bakeries and restaurants such as those clustered around Clemens and Michigan Avenue, is a huge advantage for many Eastsiders, especially those out late on a Friday or Saturday night.
Attractions “If you’re into live music or bands, you have a couple of good choices,” says East-coaster turned East-sider Jason Weller. “If you want to hang out and do your work, you’ve got choices for that.”
Families love the Eastside because the tree-lined neighborhoods are safe and affordable. Every residential neighborhood within the Eastside has its own neighborhood group or watch. The activity of such organizations and the rise in homeownership has made the Eastside a very safe neighborhood.
Weller says the only time his partner, Allison Eden, has ever felt uncomfortable walking around the neighborhood by herself at night is when the temperatures drops below freezing—and it’s the fear of frostbite, not crime, that drives her back inside.
Perhaps women feel safe in the Eastside because they once dominated the neighborhood. When the Eastside was fairly new, several young, female nurses and single mothers moved to the neighborhood so they could be close to their jobs at Sparrow Hospital. In creating a safe community, the original Eastsiders also nurtured a tight community.
The Eastside also has a lot of entertainment options. Musical choices include
Homegrown Music,
Mac’s Bar, the
Green Door, and
Moriarty’s Pub. The Eastside also has a small play house, the
Civic Players. For the telecommuting employees or wi-fi addicted college students, there’s always
Magdalena Teahouse and
Gone Wired Café.
One complaint many people have about living in a city is not having access to a grocery store. The Eastside has its own, independently owned
Apple Market, which is a great place to pick up milk and other household goods. In the spring, summer and fall, the growing
Allen Street Farmer’s Market has fresh fruits and vegetables to attract Eastsiders.
Like most urban areas, Lansing parents often have concerns about Lansing’s schools. Many Eastside parents opt to put their kids into East Lansing, Holt or other more suburban school districts. However, Muylle says the Lansing schools have been great for his kids.
“Like most urban areas, they suffer from a big perception problem,” Muylle says about Lansing schools. “We personally are having a great experience with the Lansing schools.”
Muylle says his family likes the diversity of the student population. “The schools are more a reflection of real society,” he says. “I try to teach my kids that this is what life’s like.”
Though some Eastside kids go to East Lansing schools, many East Lansing kids cross over to the Eastside to attend
Resurrection Catholic School or
Lansing Central Catholic High School. The Eastside is also near
Pattengill Middle School, a beautiful Lansing school completed in 2007.
Ivy Hughes is the Development Editor for Capital Gains, and lives in Lansing's Eastside neighborhood
Dave Trumpie is the managing photographer for Capital Gains. He is a freelance photographer and owner of Trumpie Photography.
Photos:
Eastside Neighborhood home
Motor Wheel Lofts
Moriarty's
Allen Street Farmer's Market
Pattengill Middle School
All Photographs © Dave Trumpie