“This is an exciting day in East Lansing,” City Manager Ted Staton said. “Breaking ground here on a new neighborhood — a neighborhood that will consist of single-family, detached homes and attached townhomes — homes that will be available to people in a wide variety of financial circumstances.”

Avondale Square, also known as the Virginia Avenue project, calls to demolish the homes on the road’s 600 block and replace them with 30 residential units.

The units — comprised of 16 detached single-family homes and 14 attached townhouses — will range in cost from roughly $160,000-$200,000. Down payment assistance will be provided for families living in 12 of the units.

Virginia Avenue is near the intersection of Hagadorn Road and Burcham Drive.

The 600 block originally encompassed 21 homes — many of which were occupied by students in the past. Eleven of those homes have already been demolished, while four other homes will be demolished later this month, said Tim Dempsey, East Lansing’s community and economic development administrator.

In a couple weeks, the city will begin constructing a few of the townhomes on the northwest corner of the block. The remaining units will be developed when sales move forward. The city hopes all the units will be sold by 2009, Dempsey said.

“As they sell a home, we build it,” he said.

Karen Schroeder, co-owner of Lansing-based Mayberry Homes, said she hasn’t been taking reservations from people interested in buying property on the avenue.

However, she gets calls daily from people interested in the property, she said.

“We have a waiting list of people that want to meet with us. We get calls daily from people who want more information and want to schedule appointments,” Schroeder said.