There have been continued talks that the city might attempt to use eminent domain — a way to take private property if it’s deemed necessary for public use — to obtain the necessary property and begin the project. While Pierce Education Properties has inferred that there will still be adequate student housing in East Village, it is obvious this is not the company’s main concern. Although Cedar Village is run-down and in dire need of an upgrade, to completely disregarding the living situation on the property is the wrong way to go about the project.

East Village will focus largely on housing for young business professionals, leaving even more students in the dust when it comes time to find affordable housing. Getting rid of student housing in the Cedar Village area will force students to be dispersed even further north, toward Lake Lansing Road.

This is where more distant housing, such as Chandler Crossings, also owned by Pierce Education Properties, is located. While planners have made claims that East Village student housing prices will be comparable to current prices it is hard to imagine that a brand new, higher-end East Village apartment — especially given the expected increase in property taxes — will be as affordable as Cedar Village or other student housing already in place.

The project also would hurt businesses near the area. The McDonald’s on Grand River Avenue and Cedar Street, for instance, is arguably one of the busiest establishments in the area and would feel the pain of having far fewer students right down the street. 

Since the project has been stuck in the same position as it was a year ago, it is not likely Pierce Education Properties will meet its 30-month deadline to begin building on the property. The property proposal also focuses on business-professional living, but it is questionable who would want to live that close to campus, especially if the property is built on the Cedar Village burial ground, an area that has been notorious for large weekend parties. Other nonrental properties for nonstudents — such as Albert Place Condominiums, located at the corner of Bailey Street and Albert Avenue — have been struggling to sell as it is.

Perhaps a less drastic change to the Cedar Village area would leave developers and students happy — some kind of renovation to the area, for instance, would be less costly and would not require businesses and students to be uprooted.

While it would be nice to have a chic downtown area near campus such as East Village, if students have nowhere to live, it won’t be worth it to have fancy amenities nearby.