Slowly and steadily, the City Center project is nearing completion.

But another is just getting underway.

The city of East Lansing purchased the former Old Kent Bank building at 303 Abbott Road on Nov. 2. The city then transferred the title to the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority.

Jim van Ravensway, director of planning and community development, said as of now the city is going through some preliminary projects.

“We have two different theater projects and two different hotel groups (interested),” he said.

Van Ravensway said it is unknown where any expansion on the property will take place.

“That is really up to the developers,” he said. “All we have got is that one little building.”

Vic Loomis, chairman of the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority, said when City Center II is complete, it will probably be a carbon copy of City Center I.

“We have a master plan for downtown and City Center I is part of that and the first piece of City Center II was buying that building,” he said.

Loomis said the sequel project will have retail, office and residential spaces.

He said office space is one area which needs improvement in the downtown and will bring in more business for area restaurants and shops.

“When someone outside the community looks at it and says ‘These people are doing the right thing and we would like to be a part of it,’ I think that is a validation that we are doing the right thing,” he said.

City Center I has slowly been meeting completion dates.

Van Ravensway said there have been some issues regarding the foundations.

Steve Frederickson, project director for The Christman Company, 408 Kalamazoo Plaza in Lansing, said the fall weather and previous subsurface foundations that were inaccurately drawn have slowed down production.

“The weather has been unseasonable, we have had to reorganize some things in the schedule,” he said. “We are pretty confident we will hit the spring date for completion.”

Despite the slowdown, the condominiums have been selling quickly.

Jeanette Achterberg, a realtor with Tomie Raines Inc. Realtors, 1400 Abbott Road, said 25 of the 39 condos have been sold.

The condos are priced between $145,000 and $249,900.

People have already been looking into purchasing one of the downtown locations.

“We have had some great weekends, certainly the football games haven’t hurt us a bit,” she said.

But college students may not be the ones house hunting.

“We have one medical student but mainly by large and far we have professionals that want to stay in the downtown area,” she said.

One resident thinking about buying a condo is Bill Hartwig. He said his wife and he had discussed the idea but have no definite plans.

“We are both retired but we are both active in the community,” he said.

Hartwig said despite their retirement, the community is home to them and the couple doesn’t want to leave.

“It is just the lifestyle, I guess,” he said. “I have seen the ones developed in Birmingham and I just thought the price is very attractive.”