The City Center II project could see a time extension on its site plan if the East Lansing Planning Commission approves a request from the developer, Strathmore Development Co.
In a letter to East Lansing’s Planning and Community Development Director Tim Dempsey, Strathmore Development Co. President Scott Chappelle said the development agency in charge of City Center II requests a six-month extension to the current site plan and special use permit, which is scheduled to expire April 6. The request is scheduled to be considered by the East Lansing Planning Commission meeting March 9.
City Center II is a mixed-use project slated for development on the corner of Abbot Road and Grand River and Evergreen avenues. Previously, the cost had been estimated at $116.4 million, but the Lansing State Journal reports an estimated cost of $97 million.
Chappelle said in the letter that he expects a detailed financing plan for the project to be in place before the end of the current year.
“Strathmore expects to have all financing issues resolved and in place allowing for commencement of construction in mid- to late-2011,” Chappelle said in the letter. Chappelle did not return requests for comment Wednesday.
The project currently owes about $128,084 in delinquent property taxes from 2010, East Lansing Treasurer Jill Feldpausch said.
According to the East Lansing City Charter, “The (city) council shall not have the power to contract with or give any official position to any person who is in default to the city, except any contract to cure the default.”
East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis said the delinquent taxes were transferred from the city to Ingham County on March 1, so the council would be allowed to negotiate with the developer in spite of the delinquent taxes incurred by the project if a viable plan were produced.
Loomis said the East Lansing City Council will not begin negotiations with the developer until it is provided with a detailed financing plan on the project and a legal description of all properties that will be included in the project.
“Until which time city council receives those documents, the status of the project is status quo,” Loomis said.
Ingham County Treasurer Eric Schertzing said the county did not have any delinquent taxes from the City Center II project but said the county does not have information regarding 2010 taxes yet because of processing time.
The city has worked with the project for a long time and can’t get its hopes up for the development until the project moves beyond the current stages, East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton said.
“At this point we must simply wait until the final details are brought forward,” Staton said. “Until we see the actual documentation (and) the actual financing plan, we don’t want to be overly optimistic.”
Staton said this is the first real positive push forward the City Center II project has had in quite some time, so the extension might be a positive step forward from the project.
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