By combining residential, office and retail space, East Lansing officials hope mixed-use developments will help to create a downtown with a wider variety of businesses - all within walking distance of downtown.
"Maybe if we have more condos downtown, then eventually we would be able to support a small downtown grocery market," said Lori Mullins, East Lansing's senior project manager. "Or other types of businesses, like a movie theater, that the downtown can't support right now."
A mixed-use development is one that combines multiple uses, like residential and retail, in the same building. This type of development is part of a city effort to increase downtown foot traffic, promote businesses and use land efficiently, Mullins said.
Stonehouse Village III, which breaks ground next week, will have 36 units of condos above a two-story parking garage. Although the condos are restricted to owner-occupancy and cannot be rented, their development is still beneficial for students, Mullins said.
"We have the ability to attract a greater range of retail businesses, which benefits the students by creating a more dynamic downtown environment," she said.
The benefits of mixed-use or "smart growth" developments include the reduction of sprawl and a closer proximity to goods and services, said Rex LaMore, director of MSU's center for community and economic development.
"It reduces reliance on the automobile, which is reliant on a non-renewable resource - oil," he said. "Smart growth allows for the building of a more sustainable downtown area."
Convenience is one aspect of the developments that will appeal to prospective buyers, Stonehouse developer Doug Cron said. Cron Management, LLC is the primary developer of the Stonehouse complex.
"Anyone who works for the university pays to park, so I think you are going to see people who say, 'I can walk to my office, I can walk to wherever my job is, I can walk to dinner and I don't have to touch my car,'" he said.
Professionals employed by the university, like professors and service providers, are a large part of the development's target market, Cron said.
A study by the city of East Lansing's downtown several years ago demonstrated the need for mixed-use developments in the downtown.
"The more mixed used we can have downtown, the more viable it is for businesses and residents," said Darcy Schmitt, East Lansing's planning and zoning administrator.
Since East Lansing has a built-in population of residents without access to a car, developments that promote alternative transportation, like walking and biking, are particularly effective, LaMore said.
The city's comprehensive plan, adopted in 2006, projects the city's trajectory for the next 20 years and focuses on mixed-use development, Mullins said.
"Now we just need to provide the types of housing units people want to live in and the development will continue," she said.
