East Lansing officials are pushing for redevelopment in the East Village area, but for the time being, they're going to have to put a stop to the very activity they want to promote.

The city's planning commission is in the midst of reviewing a new zoning code for the East Village, located south of Grand River Avenue between Bogue Street and Hagadorn Road, and would provide for taller buildings and a mix of retail and residential space not permitted by the existing law.

Officials hoped that work on the code, detailing exactly what can and cannot be built in the 35-acre area, would be completed by the time a City Council-imposed construction freeze is lifted.

But since the planning commission is still engaged in the review process, it will be almost impossible for the City Council to approve the new code before the moratorium on building in East Village expires May 6.

The moratorium allows owners to do maintenance work on their properties but doesn't allow them to expand square footage — essentially preventing the construction of new buildings.

Both East Lansing Mayor Sam Singh and Mayor Pro Tem Vic Loomis said they're anxious to end the moratorium but would support extending it only long enough to give council time to work through the zoning code.

"I'd prefer not going beyond 90 days," Singh said.

The longer the council takes to approve the zoning, the longer it will be before new construction can begin.

Even if the new zoning law is approved in early summer, developers aren't likely to bring plans forward immediately.

"They're typically going to be doing market studies, feasibility studies," said Darcy Schmitt, a community development analyst for the city.

But Jim van Ravensway, the city's director of planning and community development, is confident projects will be pitched in the near future — something city officials have made one of their strategic goals for the next fiscal year. Current landowners in East Village will have to get on board for new construction to move forward.

Those property owners have already expressed concern about a proposal to expand the downtown's borders east to Hagadorn Road, including East Village.

"For the short term, we don't really see a lot of benefit to this," said Colin Cronin, area director for student properties at DTN Management Co., which owns Cedar Village.

Making East Village part of the downtown would let officials funnel tax dollars into redevelopment projects.

It would be hard to get large-scale projects started without that, van Ravensway said.

"You could do it, but it's tougher," he said.

Cronin said he'd prefer the city hold off on expanding the downtown until redevelopment projects actually begin, and although he didn't rule out the possibility of DTN pursuing a project in the next year, he doesn't think there's enough demand to support a high-rise, mixed development on the site of Cedar Village.

"I would love to be able to rip it down and rebuild it," he said. "My fear is, right now, the market can't really support it.

"The whole market is just completely overbuilt."