A three-story apartment complex with space for 12 occupants will be constructed on Evergreen Avenue where the hollowed remains from a June house fire still stand.

Each four-person apartment will include four bedrooms, a kitchen and living space, said the property's owner Matt Hagan, an agent with Hagan Reality Inc.

A parking lot for at least 12 cars will be located behind the complex, he said.

Hagan owned the house at 404 Evergreen Ave., north of campus near the Valley Court Park, when a June fire caused an estimated $175,000 in damages.

Hagan decided to submit plans for a small apartment building because the house would be too costly to repair, and the property's proximity to campus would be attractive to students.

"The (house) had to be torn down," Hagan said. "The next step was deciding what to put in there and being close to the university and downtown, it was a good fit for the area."

Hagan's plans were approved by East Lansing's Historic District Commission, but not before the initial layout was rejected on Oct. 13.

Ron Springer, historic preservation officer and East Lansing community development analyst, said the complex has to fit in with the neighborhood, which includes mostly properties in East Lansing's historic district.

Hagan made changes to meet the historic commission's requests, Springer said, which included moving the building back six feet, and adding a porch and accompanying sidewalk.

Springer said the commission was concerned with the lack of a front entrance to Evergreen Avenue, but was pleased that Hagan included a porch.

"What the code says, and it follows state and federal law, is that any replacement structure has to have the same mass size, sense of entry and has to fit in with the neighborhood," Springer said.

East Lansing Fire Marshal Bob Pratt said he didn't want the building moved because it would make it more difficult to put out any possible fire in the building. But he said the end product would be OK when it's built to code.

"Anytime you move the building back, it makes rescue operations that much harder," Pratt said. "The building will be built to code, any closer to the road we can get it, we are going to be in favor of that."