Plans are expected to surface soon for a $180 million East Lansing development that could move the MSU Museum downtown or bring in a hotel, city officials say.

The City Center II project, slated for the corner of Abbott Road and Grand River Avenue, could be in front of the East Lansing Planning Commission for approval within 90 days, said Scott Chappelle, president of Strathmore Development.

The development company would tear down the vacant Citizens Bank headquarters and occupied (SCENE) Metrospace art gallery and replace the buildings with two museums and space for retail, office and residential units.

The developer also said there is a possibility of acquiring the vacated site where The Evergreen Grill was located, which is being sold by WLM Properties Limited Liabilities Co.

Officials said the project - eight years in the making - is modeled after East Lansing's $30 million City Center I on M.A.C. and Grand River avenues, which includes condominiums, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Cosi and CVS Pharmacy.

The large-scale buildings proposed for City Center II, as well as escalating costs for building materials, are reasons for a $150 million cost difference between the two projects, said Tim Dempsey, community and economic development administrator.

City Center I generates about $325,000 a year for the city, which is used to pay off the parking structure and other costs the city is responsible for, Dempsey said.

Barnes & Noble Booksellers is one of the most successful businesses downtown, in terms of volume and traffic, he said.

Chappelle said getting the university, city, state and private parties to reach an agreement on the museum aspect of the proposed project has been a complicated and gradual process. The development would include the MSU Museum and a joint collections museum with artifacts from both the university and the state of Michigan.

"It's an important site for the downtown," Chappelle said. "We want to bring something there that is going to help the downtown and help the community as a whole."

He said the state of Michigan is reviewing the potential for the museums, but he will move forward with an alternate plan if they fall through.

A second plan for the area includes a hotel and luxury condominiums, in addition to other residential space, said Jim van Ravensway, East Lansing planning and community development director. The condominiums would be more expensive than the first City Center because they would be bigger in square footage.

Citizens Bank moved to the other corner of the Abbott Road and Grand River Avenue intersection in August to make room for the City Center II project, under the condition that it would buy back office space after completion, van Ravensway said.

Current plans for the City Center II area are dependent on state funding for the proposed joint collections resource center. Bill Anderson, director of the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries, said state officials have not seriously considered the museum construction because of the current budget challenges.

"No one has given me any encouraging feedback," Anderson said.

The university and the state museums have a number of artifacts in storage and need a better way to preserve the collections, he said, adding that talks with the MSU Museum have been ongoing for a number of years.

Although the project doesn't have its final definition, the city is ready to go forward with either option, van Ravensway said.

"A project of this complexity has lots of pieces that have to come into play," van Ravensway said. "Sometimes they don't all happen in the same wavelength."

With the recent closing of The Evergreen Grill, van Ravensway said the site might be incorporated into the project. Mary Welsh, owner of the closed restaurant, said she didn't know much about the City Center II project and was forced to close on New Year's Eve because rent became too high.

Kris Metzger, manager of WLM Properties, said the sale of the building is pending and the City Center II project had nothing to do with it.

Welsh said staying in the location also could have been problematic during construction because many of the businesses near the City Center I project had a difficult time attracting customers.

"It's inevitable that it's disruptive to existing businesses," van Ravensway said. "They knew it would benefit them long-term."