Students are not the only ones flocking to live north of East Lansing's downtown.

Although dominated by the Chandler Crossings apartment complexes, which house about 3,300 student renters, the area is also inhabited by families with young children, said Tim Dempsey, the city's economic development administrator.

"A lot of those people did not live in East Lansing previously," he said. "One of the main benefits of that is we increase school enrollment. We've seen a tremendous amount of young families there. There certainly isn't many options for new housing in East Lansing.

"I happen to live there myself and have a four-year-old and a six-year-old."

Two developments currently under construction will hopefully continue this trend, Dempsey said. The Gaslight Village and Beaumont projects will bring 120 townhouses, 320 apartments, 20 condominium-style apartments and 25 single-family homes to the area.

The Gaslight Village project is located north of the intersection of Abbott Road and Lake Lansing Road, and the Beaumont project is being built between Coolidge and Chandler roads.

Bringing more families into the area and supporting the school district is an objective of the East Lansing City Council, Councilmember Mark Meadows said.

"The housing project that Tim lives in is in the East Lansing school district — we want to make sure there is housing for families in East Lansing," he said. "We are also looking at redeveloping existing neighborhoods to accommodate family living."

Enrollment in East Lansing Public Schools has steadily declined for the past 20 years. The Schools of Choice program is being used to offset some of the loss.

And new housing is something people want in East Lansing, said Darcy Schmitt, a planning and development analyst for the city. Living in an older home close to downtown sometimes isn't what families are looking for, she added.

"It's important to have a variety of housing types for them to choose from," she said. "We are trying to accommodate a mixture of small, young families, professionals — just a variety of people."

Shops, offices and restaurants will be constructed below some of the condominiums and apartment buildings, allowing the residents to have access to a variety of services they would otherwise leave the area for. Placing permanent residents there should help ensure the success of the new businesses, Schmitt said.

Despite having moved people further away from the downtown area, city officials aren't worried about residents who might stop coming near campus to shop, Dempsey said. The unique characteristics of they city's heart will bring people and their purchasing power there.

"This is viewed as net growth for us," Dempsey said. "The downtown retail market is always driven by people's attraction to what's down here. As long as those places are there, new residents will explore that. The downtown offers a different environment.

"This provides revenue growth in the city. We've been able to avoid a lot of the cuts other municipalities have faced."

Kris Turner can be reached at turne112@msu.edu.