The space it would occupy is small and surrounded by shorter buildings that would be overshadowed by the Gateway six-story building. DTN Management Co., the company proposing Gateway, required special permission to propose a building over four stories in this zone.

DTN has grand schemes right off Grand River Avenue. The Park District project has been in limbo for months. Now, pending approval, they plan on developing another piece of land just down the street. They also plan on demolishing the original Biggby Coffee location, which was founded under the name Beaner’s Cafe in 1995 by MSU alumni Bob Fish and Mary Roszel.

The area would become a six-story mixed-use behemoth surrounded by smaller businesses and Valley Court Park.

Development isn’t the problem — change is good, even necessary. East Lansing wouldn’t be the thriving college town it is today if it weren’t for the constant flow of change coursing through its streets throughout the years.

But sometimes, change isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

To allow a company to expand the downtown area in such a manner would indicate quite a few things about the integrity of East Lansing. Change might be good, but so is preserving important pieces of the past and maintaining a pleasant and liveable environment.

The Park District project has been a work in progress for years. After a long and arduous selection process, DTN was hand-picked to step up to the plate in August 2013.

They have big plans for Park District, but continue hitting roadblocks that include funding discrepancies. Park District remains an eyesore, yet DTN has already set their sights on another project just across the Valley Court Park.

From the planning schemes provided for both Park District and the Gateway, it seems that DTN is planning on choking out the Peoples Church and drowning Crunchy’s with six- to ten-story buildings, along with ridding East Lansing of a beloved stand-alone 24-hour coffee shop landmark.

DTN does not need to work on another project across the street from their current venture.

The Park District project is a multi-million dollar project that spans 2.8 acres of land. Currently, the space is decrepit and almost begs an overhaul, so DTN could, and hopefully will, do great things with that area.

It is premature for DTN to be starting another ambitious project, like the Gateway, while in the middle of another expensive venture that they have had issues funding.

The original Biggby Coffee is another issue here. To Biggby-lovers, the original location is sacred not only for its sentiment, but because it’s open 24 hours and provides caffeine and a pleasant atmosphere to students doing late-night cramming. There are other places to study, sure, and the mock-ups of the Gateway include a drive-thru coffee shop. But that does not justify the loss of a landmark for the sake of redevelopment.

Biggby owner Bob Fish has expressed his desire to develop the original building, which was already old when they opened Beaner’s Cafe in 1995. But cramming it inside a huge, multi-use building would detract from the mom-and-pop charm that many customers appreciate.

DTN has dozens of apartment buildings already in East Lansing, and the Gateway would take up land that doesn’t necessarily need to be redeveloped like the Park District does.

With 72 individual student apartment complexes in East Lansing alone, they’ve contributed areas that have come to be accepted as integral parts of our city, such as the Cedar Village disturbances.

We understand — DTN is a business, and a business’s goal is to expand. But it needs to focus on keeping its promises with the Park District project before being allowed to develop a beloved landmark in the name of urbanization.