Hiroshi Tanimoto tried everything to keep his business afloat.
But months after remodeling Murasaki Restaurant in an attempt to save the drowning establishment, the owner was forced to close his 17-year-old business on the corner of Bailey Street and Grand River Avenue this summer.
Now that his sushi diner is out of business, the building faces demolition and redevelopment. In store could be new retail shops and living space planned to help revitalize the status of that location.
"I tried everything that I thought would work and it didn't," Tanimoto said. "There are certain things I don't want to compromise. I can't sacrifice quality for the price."
East Lansing City Council on Tuesday sent a special-use permit application to rebuild a portion of the Stonehouse Village complex back to the city's planning commission for further discussion.
Bailey neighborhood residents were also present to voice their disapproval of the project.
The developer Corey Partnership hopes to tear down the buildings at 601-603 E. Grand River Ave. and 106-116 Bailey St., which includes Peking Express and Team Telecom as well as the closed Murasaki Restaurant. The development company would then construct a four-story facility with nearly 5,700 square feet of retail space and 22 apartment units.
Tanimoto said competition from Eastwood Towne Center and current economic conditions were major reasons he shut Murasaki's doors for good in August.
But he also said a transformation of the structure could help new businesses succeed.
"It's really needed," he said. "That building is really dark and old."
David Krause, of Corey Partnership, said the building's current location requires patrons to climb stairs to enter the businesses, which has been unattractive to possible tenants.
"It just comes down to revitalizing the block and putting something there that will work," Krause said. "In this town, at least, you have to be at street level."
Daniel Ream, manager of Team Telecom, said he has begun searching for a new place in the event that the proposal is passed, but added that the building's prime location will be missed.
"I'm clearly not going to change anyone's mind," he said.
The owner of Peking Express declined to comment because of a pending plan to relocate.
In June, the East Lansing Planning Commission voted against the application with a 2-3 vote.
East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said the developers responded to some of the commission's recommendations, but city council had other concerns that were broader than specific unit sizes, that the developer modified from the original plan.
A combination of two, three and four bedroom units would house 76 residents, instead of the five and eight bedroom apartments outlined in the original plan.
"I don't know that if I were in their shoes that I would have proposed any changes without hearing any of the council's concerns as well," Staton said.
At Tuesday's meeting, Councilmember Bill Sharp asked if it was possible to remove the top level to lower the amount of people living in the apartments.
Diversity, population density and the opportunity for owner-occupied housing were some of the main issues raised by the council, Staton said.
He added that it is important for the council to keep a "healthy mix of people of all ages with all kinds of buying power" in East Lansing.
"We're never going to, nor should we, segment the population," Staton said.
East Lansing Planning and Zoning Administrator Bob Owen said the plan could be back in front of the council in a few weeks, depending on the developer's timeliness.
