The project costs the city of East Lansing about $4 million, with three-fourths of the price tag aided by federal and state assistance, and is expected to be completed next year.

During winter break, Tyler Phillips pulled up to his house at 607 Virginia Ave. and found construction workers had accidentally poured a curb in front of his driveway.

When workers removed the sidewalk lining the street, they didn’t cover his driveway with stones, resulting in his roommate’s car becoming stuck in the muddy driveway. The city paid for the car to be towed.

“It’s a pain, because especially when it gets wet out, there’s no sidewalk in front of our house,” the political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore said. “So we have to walk across that muddy lot. Your shoes just get incredibly muddy.”

Tim Dempsey, East Lansing’s community and economic development administrator, acknowledges that the project has faced some setbacks.

“We ran into some major challenges,” Dempsey said. “With any major construction project there is bound to be challenges.”

For Jeff Bonynge, a theater senior, those challenges have translated to unexpected water and power outages. During construction, the city would have to temporarily turn off the water on the block, Bonynge said.

“I feel like they just did this for a profit and they’re not keeping in mind the students,” Bonynge said. “The students run East Lansing, we bring in all the money for the economy, so I feel they should treat us a little better.”

With a goal of attracting a diverse group of residents, including recent college graduates and young MSU professors, the city is offering financial assistance for those with low- to-moderate incomes.

The assistance, which comes from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, will offer $33,000 to six home buyers, said Stephanie Gingerich, an East Lansing community development analyst.

“It’s a segment of the population that wants to live in East Lansing and we want to have housing available for them to live here,” Gingerich said. “You don’t want people to look elsewhere.”

The city has demolished 15 of the of 21 properties it is trying to acquire on Virginia Avenue, Dempsey said.

Although Michigan’s housing market is struggling, interest in the project remains strong, Dempsey said, adding that no one has purchased one of the redeveloped properties.

“Mayberry Homes has indicated they have a lot of interest,” Dempsey said, referring to the company who is developing the project. “From that standpoint, I think we’re pretty encouraged.”