Piles of brick and a construction excavator mark the site of a new four-story apartment and retail building slated for the intersection at Bailey Street and Grand River Avenue.
The former home of Sidestreets Deli, Murasaki Restaurant and most recently Peking Express, now at 611 E. Grand River Ave., is being redeveloped by Corey Partnership L.L.C. into 5,000 square feet of retail space on the first level and 27 apartments, said Jim van Ravensway, director of East Lansing's department of planning and community development.
He said construction is expected to take 14 months.
Retail will occupy slightly more than half of the first floor, and apartments will fill the rest of the level and three other floors, van Ravensway said. The two-bedroom units are expected to average 1,100 square feet and draw other demographics besides MSU students, he added.
"It's designed in such a way that students may like it, professionals may like it and the same with young couples," he said.
For the project that is expected to cost Corey Partnership $3.6 million, according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the real estate firm received a $300,000 tax credit earlier this month.
Van Ravensway said Corey Partnership's developers have not described any possible tenants for the retail space to the city. The project's developer David Krause was not available for comment on Monday.
Other East Lansing city officials said the project's mix of retail and residential is congruent with the city's plan for a vibrant downtown.
"The key thing it does for Grand River (Avenue) is that it provides class A retail space," said Tim Dempsey, East Lansing community and economic development administrator. "Five thousand square feet of retail is enough space for dining, clothing."
The development's corner location on Bailey Street's 100 block is an important location to attract retailers, he added.
"It's the high-end space that meets the minimum criteria that any retailer would be looking for: high ceilings and up-to-date utilities," Dempsey said. "The appeal of this facility and this residential mix is that it will draw in recent graduates or young professionals to try to diversify the mix down here."
During its inception more than a year ago, the project raised opposition from city officials and the nearby Bailey neighborhood when it included four-bedroom apartments.
But now that the living units have changed to two bedrooms, both the East Lansing City Council and members of the Bailey Neighborhood Association are satisfied with the plans expected to attract occupants other than students.
Sally Silver, Bailey Community Association chairwoman, still is hesitant that the first level only includes slightly more than half the retail space, but said the neighborhood association is pleased with the changes Corey Partnership made.
"We were (leery) about having student apartments there," Silver said. "I'm pleased by what came at one level ? but not devoting more to first-floor retail sends the signal that others could do the same. It's bad precedent for a small downtown to say that the first floor isn't primarily for business use."
East Lansing Mayor Mark Meadows said City Council also is satisfied with the developer's final plan, which encourages multiple demographics to move in.
But he also recognized that students are still likely to move into the property which was once rejected by the council for promoting a dense student population.
"It creates an opportunity for a broader market," he said. "But anyone who thinks students won't be living there isn't paying attention to the world. There are parents who buy $250,000 condos in East Lansing for their kids. Students will be living there.
"The end result is that this is was very good for the downtown."
Scott Cendrowski can be reached at cendrow3@msu.edu.
