EL Planning Commission May Make Recommendation on 12-Story Apartment Tonight
“The Howard,” a large apartment proposed for downtown East Lansing, will be back in front of the city’s Planning Commission at a meeting Wednesday night.
The apartment, initially presented last year, has been revised and is smaller than the initial proposal – down from 15 stories to 12. The planned building includes 296 units with one, two and three-bedroom layouts, with a total occupancy of 748. The ground floor is planned to have two restaurants and an amenity space.
The current proposal does not include on-site parking, which developers would need a variance from the city to add.
A memo from East Lansing Parking Administrator Caleb Sharrow included in Wednesday’s agenda indicates developers plan to purchase 157 spaces from city parking structures to be used by residents. Sharrow indicated the city could lease this many spaces if The Howard is the only large apartment added. However, if another proposal at 530 Albert Avenue – which developers pulled earlier this year to reevaluate – returns and is approved, The Howard would only be able to lease 100 to 125 spaces, as the other developers have also expressed interest in leasing some of the city’s limited spaces.
The building is proposed to be built off Grand River Avenue at the block that currently includes The Student Book Store. The Ballein family, which has owned the Student Book Store for decades, and Harbor Bay Ventures are the developers bringing the proposal, the same groups worked together to bring The Landmark apartments in downtown East Lansing.
The apartment is proposed to be a mass timber building, an environmentally friendly type of structure that is made of thick, compressed layers of wood. Developers also plan to obtain LEED Gold certification, a status that can be earned by meeting sustainability goals.
Mark Bell, chief executive officer of Harbor Bay Ventures, told the Planning Commission at its May 13 meeting that the project would honor Howard Ballein, who owned the book store before he died in 2021.
“I think the goal of this project has always been to extend that legacy of the bookstore,” Bell said.
An attorney for The State News, Michigan State University’s student newspaper, raised concerns about the project at the May 13 Planning Commission meeting. The State News owns the building adjacent to the proposed site, a building that also features restaurants and a coffee shop.
“We’re up here not to try and stop this project,” said Nolan Moody, an attorney for The State News. “We do have concerns as a neighbor, and most of those concerns come from what we consider a site plan that has missing pieces that don’t answer what happens to The State News building.”
A primary concern is the property setback, which is the required distance between a property line and a structure. It acts as an invisible boundary where no structures can be built.
At the May 13 Planning Commission meeting, Moody told the commission that the proposed 5-foot setback is insufficient. He explained that The State News may choose to build upward in the future, but would be prevented by the close proximity of the 12-story building.
“Respectfully that’s [5-foot setback] still not going to fix the issues when you’re dealing with a residential building,” Moody said.
The construction period was another concern raised at the May 13 meeting by the Planning Commission and Moody. The proposal includes blocking southbound lanes on Charles Street and the alleyway behind The State News. Project Manager for Harbor Bay Ventures Evan Williams stated that demolition is planned to start in August and the project is anticipated to end in February 2028.
Williams said they do not anticipate blocking off Grand River because it is a state highway that requires Michigan Department of Transportation approval.
Moody said that if the alleyway were to close for 19 months, it would pose a huge disruption to tenants of The State News’ building — Panda Express, Detroit Wing Company and Foxtail Coffee — who use the alley for business deliveries. Additionally, the entrance to The State News is located in this alley.
“I heard for the first time tonight that the plan was to shut down the entire alley, including our portion of it for 19 months. That candidly, is essentially unworkable for these businesses,” Moody said at the May 13 meeting.
Moody hopes to resolve these concerns with the development team and recommended the commission withhold approval until more details are provided.
Planning Commissioners expressed similar concerns at the May 13 meeting, also questioning how a 12-story building fits into the immediate area.
“There’s a requirement that it be reasonably compatible with surrounding properties and I saw nothing that addressed how this development achieved that compatibility,” Commissioner Chuck Overbey said.
The planning commission took no action on the site plan at its May 13. It could issue a recommendation on the project at its meeting Wednesday night.