By fall 2014, at least two apartment buildings already leasing out spaces are slated to open. By fall 2015, potentially five more apartment buildings might be completed and join the new housing ranks.
Aside from the tentative housing plans of the Red Cedar Renaissance and Park District projects, all the apartment buildings feature either studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom or some combination at higher-end prices.
Although nearby-downtown locations and intimate room setups come at a pricier cost, DTN Vice President Colin Cronin said graduate students and young professionals are more apt to lease them.
Cronin, whose company is currently manning the Gateway Project and a portion of the Park District project, said the hope with nearby-downtown, upscale apartments is that businesses will tailor themselves to the increased population of young professionals.
“If you can get a slightly different group living down there, then the rest change their offerings,” Cronin said. “The more diversity you can get downtown, the more it will change the downtown over time.”
These apartments, and the businesses that assumedly will tailor to the demographic shift, could drive post-graduation student retention in East Lansing, he said.
Planning, Building and Development Director Tim Dempsey said fostering a young professional population in East Lansing has, for some time, been one of the city’s priorities.
“I think (East Lansing’s) goals, in many ways, are to bring in young professionals and keep seniors near the downtown,” Dempsey said.
Another target audience receiving the attention of developers is the ever-increasing Chinese student population.
According to previous State News reports , Chinese international enrollment has almost doubled since 2009. From 44 Chinese undergraduates in 2004 to 3,458 in 2013, the Chinese international student population has skyrocketed.
Midtown Apartments property manager Megan Hoy said their company has taken note, using Chinese student focus groups and crafting a logo that incorporates the Chinese character for “home” for their new apartments, which are located off Michigan Avenue and slated to open in the fall.
