Since 2002, Cody Dawson has called a mansion his home.
The 4,752-square-foot brick structure, with sprawling lawns and a backyard overlooking the Red Cedar River, has housed more than 2,000 men in its 73-year history, including about 30 of the economics senior's closest friends that live there now.
And he's not ready to give it all up.
Dawson's bedroom in the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house, 1218 E. Grand River Ave., is in the heart of a developer's paradise — the 35-acre East Village — an area deemed "blighted" by the East Lansing City Council in December.
The city's planning commission will host a public hearing on Nov. 9 for the East Village Master Plan, a vision for redevelopment that aims to bring retail and office space, as well as owner-occupied and rental housing, to the area, along with an estimated $16.3 million price tag for the city.
City officials hope the development will boost the local economy and provide many more housing opportunities to East Lansing residents — students, young professionals, empty nesters, alumni — that would like to live closer to campus and the Red Cedar River.
The plan includes a boat basin, amphitheater and riverfront walkway, but no fraternities for the area, bordered by Grand River Avenue, Bogue Street, Hagadorn Road and the Red Cedar River.
"If this is going to be a utopia that the planning commission wants it to be, we want to be a part of it," Dawson said. "If they're trying to bully us out, well, we're not going to be pushed around."
In order for the current plan to reach fruition, the fraternities would have to relocate.
Dawson said the four fraternities — Delta Sigma Phi; Delta Chi, 101 Woodmere Ave.; Beta Theta Pi, 1148 E. Grand River Ave.; and FarmHouse, 151 Bogue St. — are all "on the same page" in opposition to the current plan and are all unwilling to sell. All four fraternities own their own houses. Other fraternities in the area rent their homes.
"It's not about money for us," he said. "We're a nonprofit. All the money we make goes right into the maintenance and upkeep of the house."
With the backing of affluent alumni and the fraternities' national organizations, the fraternities may present the biggest challenge to the master plan and the redevelopment of East Village.
"At this point, if people don't take the incentives, then, maybe, there goes the plan," said Dale Springer, a member of the planning commission and the committee that drafted the master plan.
Because of the area's blighted status, the city is eligible for additional state funding that could be passed along as incentives to property owners who want to redevelop.
Some incentives include a freeze on property taxes for areas that are going to be rehabilitated, and financial opportunities for businesses.
Springer said there may be a way to work around the fraternities, but it isn't part of the current plan.
"The idea is to maximize the looks of that space with new structures," he said. "I think it's one way or the other."
In September, the East Lansing City Council commissioned the nine-member East Lansing Historic District Study Committee to analyze the fraternity houses in the East Village area. If the committee deems the fraternities "historic," as based on criteria provided by state laws and the National Park Service, the homes could be spared from the bulldozers.
The master plan is a 31-page document outlining broad goals for redevelopment of the area by creating a "more densely populated, mixed-use form of development" and improving the environmental quality of the area.
East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said the idea of redeveloping the area was first envisioned after Cedar Village became the scene of disturbances such as the 1999 and 2003 riots. If adopted, the plan would act as a blueprint for all future renovations in the area. So, for example, if DTN Management Co. wanted to tear down Cedar Village and build updated apartments, they would have to follow the new rules and perhaps include retail or office space in the new structures.
The blueprint is the result of a yearlong planning endeavor by the East Village Planning Committee, a group of planning commissioners, property owners, city staff and MSU officials designated by the city's planning commission. No students or members of the greek community were on the committee.
If property owners don't buy into the new plan, city officials have the option of pursuing the property by the use of eminent domain, although city officials have stressed they are not planning to use it in this development.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision in June broadened the scope of a government's use of eminent domain to include economic developments, such as the East Village project. The city has used eminent domain twice in the last 30 years to acquire land for public use.
But while current city officials have made the pledge to negotiate with property owners and not use eminent domain, Dawson said he is worried about what could happen in eight or 10 years when the City Council could have a totally different makeup. While they have made the promise, there has been no ordinance passed by the City Council directing them to not use eminent domain, Dawson said.
"If they're so insistent that that's not what they want to do, then why not put it in writing," he said.
Lori Mullins, senior project manager for the city's planning department, said the project is still very early in the planning stages and the fraternities aren't threatened.
"They certainly have the option to stay," said Mullins, adding that the houses could be rebuilt back into the project in another format. "The city couldn't buy up the whole area and then sell it off to developers."
While the redevelopment could encompass many different developers, the City Council approved East Village Spartans LLC in May as the lead developer for the project. The company consists of four construction entities - Ed Schaffran of Ann Arbor, Fred Gordon of Detroit, Owens Aimes Kimbel of Grand Rapids, and lead developer HDC Construction Co. of Novi.
HDC did not return numerous phone calls made to its office throughout the last week.
"It's likely that a larger developer would need to play that coordination role, but that doesn't preclude some of the property owners that have several parcels to do a project on their own," Mullins said.
FarmHouse fraternity's executive board and alumni association board have met with developers to discuss redeveloping into the new plan, said chapter president Kevin Thiel.
The master plan calls for an extension of Dormitory Road from campus into the East Village area. The road would run directly through FarmHouse's parking lot, just a few feet from its building at 151 Bogue St.
"It's the prime location," Thiel said. "It helps out our rush so much."
Thiel said the boards have entertained the idea of moving or redeveloping their house, but the price would have to be right. They estimate that rebuilding the 45-year-old house in a similar location would cost about $2.5 million, Thiel said.
"We aren't moving unless we get enough for this house and (find) a good location," he said.
Many FarmHouse alumni visiting for Homecoming weekend expressed their willingness to help the fraternity "as much as possible," Thiel said.
The alumni of other fraternities in the area also met Saturday to discuss the plan and each chapter's response.
Scott Pauley, a Delta Sigma Phi alumnus and president of the fraternity's alumni corporation board, said his fraternity's alumni were "deeply concerned" when the plan was first unveiled earlier this year.
Pauley said the building's history and architecture are unrivaled in the city. During the 1979-80 school year, American Motors used the house as a backdrop for an advertising campaign because of its "stately-looking" exterior, Pauley said.
Delta Sigma Phi and the other three fraternities have spent more than $700,000 in the past three years updating their houses. Renovations include new electrical systems, wireless Internet and fire code updates.
"It's a beautiful house. It's the right setting. We don't want to go," said Pauley, adding that fellow alumni have pledged their help to maintain the house. "If we need to step up to the plate, we'll do that."
Pauley spent Sunday afternoon at Delta Sigma Phi's annual bed race charity event in downtown East Lansing. The St. Joseph resident said the races were just an example of the greek community's positive role in the city.
"If you lose these frats, you lose people that are giving back," he said.
East Lansing City Councilmember Vic Loomis said the planning commission, planning staff and other city officials are doing the right thing by continually reassessing the city and its needs, adding that any planning in public creates more anxiety within the community.
Still, Loomis said he has "seen nothing yet that (he is) excited about" in the plan, but anticipates a healthy discussion at the planning commission's Nov. 9 public hearing.
Loomis is the council liaison to the planning commission.
"I've heard loud and clear from current fraternity members and alumni, that are my contemporaries, that they are perfectly happy with the building they have and the location they have and I fully support that," said Loomis, who is up for re-election on Nov. 8. "You have to have someone who is willing to redevelop their property.
"If someone is not willing, you can have all the plans you want, but you're not going anywhere."
