While the news the space might finally be filled since it was vacated in January 2012 is good news, it’s still very underwhelming.

Downtown East Lansing is filled with many retail stores. Barnes & Noble wouldn’t have been the best place to stay in the space when it chose not to renew its lease, as the book business already was dwindling with the increasing popularity of tablets, such as the iPad or Amazon’s Kindle.

But what Barnes & Noble did do was bring in business to the downtown, not only for its own store, but for many in the city who wanted to check out the other storefronts.

And an insurance company taking over the 35,000-square-foot building isn’t a big money maker that’s going to bring in a lot, if any, business.

The choice to use the building as an office space isn’t an exciting or flashy decision. It might not even be thought out, as the owners might have gone with the first business to show real interest in leasing the building. What it was was practical and boring.

While the choice isn’t an enticing one, the fact the space might finally be filled is encouraging.

The building was one of several vacated spaces in East Lansing. Along with the former City Center II site, both of these places create a substantial eyesore on the city, where somebody can walk from one end of the downtown to the other and always see these big, abandoned buildings, giving off a barren feel.

And the addition of a professional business will not only help bring jobs to the downtown, but add a new type of diversity as well draw more professional-types in the area.

So while the fact something might be there is good, it’s still disappointing, as the space could have been used for so much more, but not a bar or restaurant, as the downtown has plenty of those already.

But there are many options that haven’t been explored yet, such as a grocery store that would fit in an area dominated by college students and families that could use a convenient place to shop for groceries. Or possibly a mini mall with various stores that could appeal to both the college students and permanent residents.

At this point, any business will be a good business to help East Lansing rid itself of more vacated buildings, even one as underwhelming as an insurance company.