A rendering of the 10-story apartment building proposed to be built at the site of the Bailey Street Parking Lot that the City Council rejected. (From agenda packet)

Developer Asks Ingham County Court to Overturn Apartment Denial

Tareen Development Partners, or TDP, is suing East Lansing for denying a 10-story apartment proposed to be built where the Bailey Street Parking Lot currently sits, asking an Ingham County court to overturn the decision made by the East Lansing City Council in July. 

Earlier this month, East Lansing Info reported that TDP was suing the city after viewing digital records of a summons at Veterans Memorial Circuit Court in Lansing. Thursday, ELi obtained a claim of appeal filed by TDP with the court that alleges the city’s site plan review was unnecessary and broke the law. 

According to TDP’s appeal, the developer’s proposed 10-story, 205-unit apartment met East Lansing’s zoning requirements and therefore should only need to have a building permit approved. The developer says the City Council’s decision is “arbitrary and capricious,” and the developer was denied due process and equal protection rights guaranteed by the Michigan Constitution. 

The appeal asks the court to reverse the City Council’s decision and approve TDP’s site plan, along with costs and attorney fees the developer incurred during the appeal process.

On July 21, TDP’s apartment complex was denied by the City Council. At the same meeting, the body approved a 12-story apartment to be built off Grand River Avenue nearby. Mayor Erik Altmann cited concerns about the proposal’s compatibility with nearby properties, parking and traffic congestion before the body voted to reject it. 

Developers initially proposed building a 13-story apartment that included public parking to replace spaces that would be lost in the Bailey Lot. However, the plan was reworked after developers said it would be too expensive to replace the parking and meet a city requirement that 25% of units be dedicated to affordable housing or another purpose that diversifies the downtown housing stock. By proposing a smaller apartment, TDP avoided hitting a height threshold that triggered the diverse housing requirement. 

During a lengthy review process that stretches back to last year, concerns about unclear expectations for developers emerged. Planning Commission member Joshua Ramirez-Roberts said he worried the city would be sued if it rejected the proposal and Altmann said at a June Downtown Development Authority meeting the city “fumbled the ball” communicating with developers. 

At a March City Council meeting, before the proposal was redesigned, TDP Vice President of Development Cody Dietrich said TDP had spent about $500,000 pursuing the project. 

This was not the first time a developer had an apartment proposal rejected that would have replaced the Bailey Street Parking Lot since city officials told owners of the mostly-privately owned lot that they wanted the area developed in 2022. In 2023, the city rejected a five-story workforce housing apartment proposed for the area.