Developments might be moving forward to add both rental housing and permanent residential units in East Lansing.
The East Lansing City Council will vote on approving plans for two different developments in the area at its 7:30 p.m. Tuesday meeting at City Hall, 410 Abbot Road.
Two items on the Avondale Square project, a housing development on the 600 block of Virginia Avenue aimed at permanent residents, will allow the city manager to execute purchase agreements for lots in the development. Another resolution for Avondale includes changes to the development agreement.
By allowing the city manager to sign off on purchase agreements, the Department of Planning and Community Development no longer will have to go through the City Council to approve a purchase request for a property.
“It’s really a technicality,” East Lansing community development analyst Stephanie Gingerich said. “It doesn’t really change anything; we’d still have to come back to council if the price of the lot is going to change or if something was different.”
An addition to rental housing potentially could become a reality as well. A request for Brownfield plan funds for two properties located on Louis Street has been issued. The City Council was approached at its July 28 work session to approve a purchase agreement for two properties in the 600 block of Virginia Avenue, which were to be included in the Avondale Square project.
Tim Dempsey, East Lansing’s planning and community development director, said the purchase agreement going through was contingent on whether the council would grant Brownfield funds for two other properties under the same ownership.
Brownfield funds are used for developments facing economic challenges because of environmental constraints. City assessor Jane Meddaugh said in an affidavit that the properties were being under used and deemed it functionally obsolete.
Dempsey said the property owner plans to demolish the two homes if the funds are approved and build rental units in their place.
“Those will certainly be student-oriented,” he said. “Those are really intended to be for students. They’re in a largely student area.”
If the funds are approved by City Council, Dempsey said the developer plans to continue renting the buildings until the current lease expires in May 2010 and begin construction on the new development immediately after.
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