The decision comes after a summer of interviews, additional work sessions and presentations made by multiple prospective developers.

“This is probably the most difficult decision I’ve made since I’ve joined council,” East Lansing City Council member Kathleen Boyle said.

Boyle followed her comment by stating DTN’s experience and success in East Lansing, along with its consideration of community input in the planning process, sets itself apart as a developer.

DTN Vice President and former MSU offensive lineman Colin Cronin said the next step is working on a pre-development agreement with the city, which would detail the process of working with different companies, citizen groups and area stakeholders. He said he hopes to have it finished by the end of August.

After that, Cronin said city staff and council will complete a formal development agreement. The time frame of the formal agreement is tentative, but hopefully in the nine month range, he said.

“We’re very pleased,” Cronin said. “We are looking forward to working with the city to complete a development project.”

Although he said he supports DTN, East Lansing City Council member Victor Loomis said the bigger issue is that the East Lansing community must determine what they want to do with the land.

“We have the cart ahead of the horse,” Loomis said. “The project has to be built with appropriate financial footing. From my perspective, at this point … it’s not really sufficient to make that determination, and that’s part of what must be done as the process moves forward.”

The Park District covers 2.82 acres of land, stretching from Abbot Road to Valley Court, near The People’s Church, Dublin Square Irish Pub and Valley Court Park.