The sounds of heavy machinery now fill the air at the St. Anne project, and thin metal columns and framing stick out of the ground.

Adjacent to the St. Anne Lofts site, a separate, eight-story, $8.5 million apartment structure also is planned for construction, but work has not yet started.

A concept plan for a portion of the St. Anne Lofts project was discussed during Tuesday night’s city council work session, but no action was taken.

The development is scheduled to be ready for occupancy in summer 2012, according to the project’s website.

Plans for the high-rise apartments include laundry centers and kitchen islands, and the building also is expected to make use of an open-air restaurant on the second floor, project developer Kris Elliott said in a previous interview with The State News.

St. Anne Lofts also will include an outdoor space on the ground level that could be used for dining space, Dempsey told city council members at its Tuesday work session.

“Because this is all part of a redevelopment, it affords us more opportunity,” he said.

Communication and advertising senior Hanna Burmeister said students might be concerned with the hefty price tag that might accompany an apartment at the St. Anne Lofts complex.

“I would love to live in a location right there (close to downtown bars and restaurants),” she said.
“I assume it would be ridiculously expensive.”

As the lofts are built, the Ann Street Plaza on the site of the project also is scheduled to undergo redevelopment, with plans to add an outdoor stage for concerts as well as an outdoor fire pit.

Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett said the outdoor fire pit portion of the project might present safety and vandalism concerns.

“Depending on how this is structured, there’s significant opportunity for mischief,” Triplett said.

The plaza itself will be repaved, but other features — including the clock tower on the plaza — will remain in place as a result of the redevelopment, East Lansing Community and Economic Development Administrator Lori Mullins said.

With such an extensive project, Councilmember Don Power said he is wary of getting involved in any financing agreements related to the project that might hamper future city officials.

“You’ve got a thousand options and a thousand different varieties,” he said.

“If you move one piece, you’ve moved another piece .”