Pierce Education Properties in San Diego is preparing to
ask East Lansing City Council to let it develop a 35-acre piece of land between
Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road in East Lansing. The development would include
replacing Cedar Village and several other apartment complexes.
According to excerpts from the article:
Instead of an area dominated by rental houses and
apartments, the city and Pierce Education Properties are proposing an ambitious
redevelopment plan that would remake the area.
The apartments and rental housing that line the streets
would be replaced with buildings five or more stories tall. Retail space would
be on the first floor and office or apartment space is planned to fill the
remaining levels.
The style could be similar to the developments at Taco
Bell, 601 E. Grand River Ave., or CVS, 240 M.A.C. Ave.
“We want it to be a place, a place where people will want
to go to live, work and shop,” said Jim van Ravensway, director of East Lansing’s
Department of Planning and Community Development. “Over time, the area could
have significant regional appeal.”
The development plans, which must be approved by the East
Lansing City Council, include a man-made canal, extending from the Red Cedar River,
cutting through part of the area. Music clubs and storefronts could line its
banks and the apartment complexes near the river would be demolished in order
to create a public park.
Currently, there are about 600 rental units in the East
Village, 546 of which are in the project space. Pierce Education Properties
plans to increase the number to 965 housing units, with 80 percent targeting
graduate and undergraduate students. The remaining 20 percent will be used for
owner-occupied housing.
The price of those apartments will be determined by the
market, said Fred Pierce, president and CEO of Pierce Education Properties. The
price could be lower than the cost for apartments at Campus Village, which
charges $700 for a two-bedroom unit and $575 for a four-bedroom unit.
Read the entire article here.
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