$750 Million East Lansing Project May Include Gourmet Grocery

The details of a proposed $750 million East Lansing development along the Red Cedar River are coming to light as developers prepare to provide project specifics to the East Lansing City Council in the next few weeks. It’s been rumored that a gourmet grocery store, such as Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, could be a part of the development.

According to excerpts from the article:

The 25-acre East Village project would be bounded by the Red Cedar River and East Grand River Avenue and extend from Bogue Street to Stoddard Avenue near Michigan State University.

Construction could begin next year and be completed in 2012, said Fred Pierce, president and chief executive officer of Pierce Education.

The project's 380,000 square feet of retail space would include restaurants, specialty food market and entertainment venues, such as an 80,000-square-foot movie theater.

Pierce Education is considering grocers such as Trader Joe's Co. and Whole Foods Market Inc., Pierce said.

Undergraduate apartments would house 1,500 students, while 300 apartments would be available to graduate students, university employees or members of the local work force.

East Village would have 190 for-sale residential properties, which could include townhouses, condominiums or lofts.

"We want to replace the student housing that's there with newer, more modern housing geared to students, but . . . we also like to think of it as a place where young professionals and empty nesters would consider owning," East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said.

East Village would offer MSU 200,000 square feet of office space. Additional space could be added if a "significant tenant" expresses interest, Pierce said.

A 200-room hotel would include 35,000 square feet of meeting and conference space.

The "heart and soul of the project" is a six-acre river park, Pierce said, which would make the riverfront accessible to the community.

Read the entire article here.