Conceivably, demolition might begin in August 2009, City Manager Ted Staton said.

“Plenty of Michigan State students who are here today won’t be here for even the commencement of the project, let alone the completion of the project,” he said. “This is a two to three year project.”

But before the field work can begin, a formal development agreement must be approved by the city, and the master developer of the project, the San Diego-based Pierce Company Inc., must acquire all the necessary land.

Acquiring all the land is a process that could take up to 24 months to complete, which would be a “best case scenario,” said Tim Dempsey, East Lansing’s community and economic development administrator.

“We’re looking at the economics of what it would take to acquire this property, what it’d cost to build it, and where the different component pieces of the financing would come from,” Dempsey said. “To really make this project work, we have to control all the property.”

East Village is home to Cedar Village apartments, among others, and has the capacity to house about 2,000 people. The apartments are mostly occupied by student renters.

The redevelopment, which will cost about $500 million, calls for mixed-use housing for up to 2,500 people. Officials hope the changes will attract more permanent residents to the area.

Preliminary negotiations between The Pierce Company and East Village property owners have been very successful and will resume in the fall season, Dempsey said.

“The vast majority are very open-minded to it, and what they’ve said is we’ll evaluate this once we have concrete numbers,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s a business decision. They want to see what the numbers are.”

While negotiations to acquire the land continue, city officials and The Pierce Company are working on achieving a formal development agreement. The main hurdle in that endeavor is trying to determine what there’s a market for in the area, Staton said.

“The next step is going to be a formal development agreement and we have that in our timetable as taking place this fall,” Staton said. “We’re on target in that development agreement.”

Along with the new residences, the project proposes to build a shopping avenue and a man-made canal and island in the heart of the village. Officials also have examined the financial feasibility of building a new cinema and hotel.

There’s a lot of work to do, but significant progress has been made, said Lori Mullins, East Lansing’s senior project manager.

“The construction plan is in place, but work still needs to be done in negotiations with property owners and in finalizing the design and the different components of the project,” Mullins said. “If the project continues to progress as well as it has been, we expect it to break ground in about two years.”