The company also has either bought or acquired development rights on several lots of private land surrounding the city and Downtown Development Authority-owned parcels, including the former Old Kent Bank building at Grand River Avenue and Abbot Road, which has been vacant for more than a decade.

DTN’s initial proposal would bring some significant changes to the Park District. In its plans, five buildings would be constructed, ranging from four to 10 stories each. Plans also propose a skywalk across Grand River Avenue to campus.

The buildings would house a mix of retail, residential and parking space. DTN also proposed realigning Abbot Road to connect to Valley Court Park, which DTN Vice President and co-owner Colin Cronin said will help improve traffic flow downtown.

The approved predevelopment agreement also mandates the public have a say in the final design of the new Park District. DTN must hold three design meetings by Nov. 15, where the public can contribute to the district’s design.

It’s a process the city of East Lansing and its residents have seen before.

Until last June, the Park District was planned to be the site of a development project known as City Center II, spearheaded by Strathmore Development Co. The city has been trying to redevelop the site since 2001.

The project’s proposed $105 million development agreement was unanimously rejected declared financially infeasible by council members in June 2012 after years of failed attempts to secure adequate financing.

“We looked at the numbers, the finances and concluded we couldn’t responsibly move forward with the project,” Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett said of City Center II. “There wasn’t enough financial security, there wasn’t enough protection for our taxpayers.”

The City Center II project had drawn mixed reviews from city officials, leading to a different approach.

DTN’s proposal won the council’s recommendation after vetting five submissions from other development firms this year. Triplett said finances set the proposal apart.

“DTN’s proposal is unique in several respects,” Triplett said. “Perhaps most importantly, that they’ve committed on several occasions publicly that they can build this project without any city bonds having to be issued, which I think gives a great deal of security to our taxpayers.”

City Manager George Lahanas said a shift in economic climate also added confidence to the city’s recommendation.

“I think there’s a strong difference in timing. After (the 2008 economic crisis), financing was very difficult, everything was very difficult,” Lahanas said. “Obviously, it’s different people involved (now), but also I think the environment is much more conducive to moving forward with a project like this.”

“It’s facilitated by professionals who know how to gather public input, and then it’ll be hopefully actually looking at designs,” Lahanas said. “DTN will have their consultants gather that information, they’ll also gather information and input from the city and that will all come together into hopefully what they view as a doable project.”

Cronin also views the public meetings as a vital part of the due diligence period.

“Over the next nine months, if us, the city and the community come up with a vision that everybody likes and is financially feasible, then we’ll actually get into a formal development agreement with the city,” Cronin said.

“That’ll really have a detailed plan of exactly what’s going to be built, how it’s going to be financed.”

Cronin said he views the predevelopment agreement as a sort of handshake laying out the rules of engagement, and is hopeful for the project’s potential.

“This’ll kinda be the first piece to help turn the dial for East Lansing to bring other residential types to East Lansing, other office users, other retail users,” Cronin said.

“Just a diverse mix of opportunities in downtown East Lansing that maybe didn’t exist before.”

Check out our timeline below on the progression of the Park District project: