Photo showing the location of the DDA’s Evergreen Avenue Properties bordered in yellow. (Dylan Lees for ELi)

DDA to Once Again Take Pitches on Evergreen Properties

The East Lansing Downtown Development Authority (DDA) is again looking to find a buyer for its properties at 314-344 Evergreen Avenue. 

At its Thursday, April 25 meeting, the DDA decided it will draft a Request For Qualifications and Professional Assistance (RFQ/P) for the marketing of the Evergreen properties. The RFQ/P, which will be presented at the next DDA meeting, will ask for a company to market the property on behalf of the DDA, Community and Economic Development Administrator Heather Pope told ELi. 

Pope said that the DDA does not have any guidelines for the types of projects that could be developed on the property.

“This is the idea, to keep it general,” she said. “See what ideas might come out of the market.”

Community and Economic Development Administrator Heather Pope at the March 28 Downtown Development Authority meeting. (Dylan Lees for ELi)

This is a different approach from the last time the DDA tried to offload the properties, which it has owned since 2009. In 2018, the DDA put together a committee of stakeholders to evaluate redevelopment ideas for the properties. The DDA then issued an RFQ/P, and assessed proposals based on the recommendations put out by the committee. 

However, the DDA only received a pair of responses, and one applicant eventually dropped out. In 2020, the DDA entered an exclusive development agreement with local company River Caddis. 

Initially, River Caddis proposed an eight-story office building that would likely also contain retail or restaurant space. However, after years of extensions River Caddis’ proposal morphed into student housing. In July of 2023, the DDA declined to give another extension to River Caddis. 

The property has upside. 

The potential of the property is clear – it sits downtown near other large, recent developments, Michigan State University (MSU) and Valley Court Park. 

Another angle of the DDA’s Evergreen Avenue properties. (Dylan Lees for ELi)

DDA Chair Mike Krueger told ELi in an interview that he thinks the property will be easier to market than before because it doesn’t have desired features outlined, like the RFQ/P that brought in River Caddis. He said he’s excited to see what types of projects are proposed and referenced class projects MSU students presented to the DDA last year, when students pitched ideas for the space. 

“It was kind of cool, from a student’s perspective, to understand what it was that they wanted to see and what they thought that the properties could be useful for,” Krueger said. “I think that kind of really helped to excite the DDA members, in that it doesn’t have to be just housing… There’s got to be somebody out there who has a creative idea for it. That’s what we’re hoping for.”

Krueger said he doesn’t have any specific ideas for a new development.

“I want to see what other people think they can do there,” he said. “Then hopefully we can all come to a consensus and choose what would work best for the city.”

Former Interim Planning Director Tim Dempsey, who has since left the city ranks, indicated at the July 11, 2023 DDA meeting that there is interest in the site from developers. 

“There’s always developers asking about the site,” Dempsey said at that meeting. 

But there are challenges associated with the property. 

As was evident by River Caddis’ inability to get a project off the ground, there are many challenges associated with the Evergreen properties. 

“The property itself is sort of landlocked,” Krueger said. “There’s not a whole lot of wiggle room on any of the sides.” 

East Lansing DDA Chair Mike Krueger speaking at the March 23, 2023, meeting. (Dylan Lees for ELi)

Challenges that River Caddis mentioned to the DDA include the shape of the property, potential soil contamination at the site and a lack of parking in the area. 

Additionally, the DDA has accrued significant debt on the property since acquiring it 15 years ago. Just last year, the city refinanced the property, which was necessary to avoid a financially “catastrophic situation.” The DDA will look to find a project that adds value to the city, while also recouping  some of the lost assets as interest on the property continues to mount. 

Looking ahead

The DDA will next meet Thursday, May 23. At that meeting, Pope said the RFQ/P for the project should be presented. To learn more about the DDA’s Evergreen Avenue properties, read ELi’s past coverage here.