The Garten Haus apartments on Gunson and Beech Street will not be available to lease for the 2015-2016 school year, because the cottage-style apartments are slated for replacement with five, three-story apartment buildings.
DTN Management Company plans to demolish the apartments, replacing them with the three-story buildings which will house 21 one and two-bedroom apartments.
DTN’s chief construction officer Allen Russell said great care was taken to ensure the new buildings would fit into the neighborhood.
Russell said their architect, Studio Design, observed the neighborhood to determine how the new buildings would best blend in. Once a general plan was created, DTN held neighborhood meetings to raise support and get feedback.
Russell said the finished apartments will have stonework, details on the walks to pick up some of the neighborhood style, and parking underneath the building to avoid an aesthetically displeasing parking lot.
As a result of the neighborhood collaboration, Russell said the plans were did not face much opposition.
“We’re pleased to have the support that we received,” he said.
East Lansing Council meeting minutes show that DTN began plans for reconstruction in 2012, but their proposal was initially denied by the East Lansing Planning and Community Development council.
Timothy Schmitt, East Lansing community development analyst, said the plans were denied because DTN wanted to change the property from a low-density residence to a high-density, university-oriented residence, which wasnt permitted under the city’s zoning.
“It wasn’t appropriate for the neighborhood...it would have stuck out like a sore thumb,” Schmitt said.
DTN then decided to redevelop the property under the zoning they had in place. After two years of reworking the proposal, DTN once again presented the reconstruction plans to the council. The proposal was unanimously approved in May 2014.
“We were determined to move forward with the redevelopment of the site because we knew the buildings were outdated,” Russell said.
Hospitality business senior Emilie Daubenspeck, who lives in Garten Haus, agrees that the apartments need updating. She said the bathroom is tiny, the plumbing is old and a lot of the outlets aren’t grounded.
However, Daubenspeck said she loved the unique style of the apartments.
“They’re quirky and quaint,” she said.
Kevin Clark, another resident of the apartments, said he enjoys living there in large part because the apartments are dog-friendly.
Clark said the worst part of the apartments is not having a dishwasher.
Construction will begin for the new apartments in spring 2015.
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