East Lansing City Council approves 10-story student apartment for downtown

The East Lansing City Council has given the go-ahead to a student-focused 10-story apartment building slated for the eastern edge of the city's downtown. 

Chicago developer Core Spaces LLC first proposed the project — called the "The Hub of East Lansing" —  in late October.  Council members voted 5-0 in favor of the proposal earlier this week. 

The building will sit near East Grand River Avenue and Cedar Street and will have 347 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. It will house up to 585 residents and have 158 parking spaces. 

The developer will demolish the buildings at 918 and 1010 E Grand River Ave., which are home to a 7-Eleven and Georgio's Gourmet Pizzeria. Both businesses will move into the new building. 

The developer did not ask for tax incremental financing for the project. 

The project's ratio of rooms to parking spaces initially drew concerns. Other building owners in the area said they often struggle with providing enough parking and were concerned that the building's residents would have to resort to parking illegally or taking up other buildings' spaces. 

"Even though our properties are just a few blocks from campus and we have one parking space per bedroom, residents would like more parking – for roommates, guests and visiting family – not less," Nancy Marr, Prime Housing Group president, wrote in a Dec. 12 letter to the council.

But other Core Spaces properties have similar parking-to-unit ratios, David Pierson, an attorney for Core Spaces, said at Tuesday's council meeting.

And the building's close proximity to campus also makes it less likely that residents will need to bring cars, East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said. 

“Because this is right across the street from campus we decided that the parking is appropriate for it," Meadows said. 

Earlier this year, the council got rid of an owner-occupancy requirement in East Village, a 35-acre area on the south side of Grand River Avenue between Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road where "The Hub of East Lansing" will sit. 

The previous requirement mandated that developers market 50% of new units as owner-occupied condos. The council rewrote the zoning code to allow for a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.

"The Hub of East Lansing" was the first project proposed under the new requirements, Meadows said, and fits into long-term goals of making downtown more dense and walkable. 

The area has always been primarily student housing because of its proximity to campus. The rule change acknowledges that the make up of the area probably won't shift, Meadows said

"There's very little likelihood that another type of opportunity to redevelop would come forward," he said. 

Apartment amenities at The Hub will include a fitness room, a club room, a computer lab, study rooms and a theater. The top floor will include an outdoor terrace, and the roof will have a pool and a basketball court.  

Core Spaces has similar projects either in progress or completed near campuses across the country, among them Purdue, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota. 

Contact reporter Haley Hansen at (517) 267-1344 or hhansen@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @halehansen.