Developers Propose Two Massive Apartment Complexes be Added to Downtown East Lansing

Developers have submitted proposals to add two massive housing complexes to downtown East Lansing. 

Plans East Lansing Principal Planner Landon Bartley shared with ELi show one development is proposed for 530 Albert Ave., the current site of the Bailey Street parking lot, and the other is proposed for 401 E. Grand River Ave., a location that includes the Student Book Store and a recently-closed Starbucks. . 

Minnesota-based Tareen Development Partners are proposing a 13-story apartment building be constructed at 530 Albert. According to the plan submitted to the city, the first two floors would have more than 80 parking spots and the complex would include more than 200 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments.

The Tareen Development Partners website says the business specializes “in housing and mixed-use projects across a range of asset classes, including affordable, market-rate, and workforce housing.” Developers did not respond to a request for comment before publication. 

This isn’t the first time a developer has pitched an apartment complex be built where the Bailey parking lot sits. City Council denied a proposal in 2023 by American Community Developers, a Detroit-based developer, to construct a five-story workforce housing building. This proposal drew criticism from community members who opposed building over the surface parking lot and the proposed tax structure for the project, among other things. 

Additionally, developers are also moving forward with “The Howard” at 401 East Grand River. The proposed 15-story complex includes 794 bedrooms and 274 parking spaces. There are also four proposed retail spaces on the first level, ranging from 1,599 to 3,992 square feet. The proposal is from the Ballein family, which owns the Student Bookstore, and Harbor Bay Ventures. The same two groups partnered to bring The Landmark apartments to downtown East Lansing in 2019. 

Developers are proposing The Howard includes a mass timber design. Mass timber structures are made of thick, compressed layers of wood and are considered more environmentally-friendly than other structures. Previously, both the East Lansing Downtown Development Authority and City Council have favored resolutions that encourage mass timber. 

Developers have spoken about the project at recent city meetings and previously discussed The Howard with ELi. Developers have urged the city to change a policy that requires 25% of units in new downtown housing developments be dedicated to diversifying the area’s housing stock, requiring they be affordable, reserved for seniors, be owner-occupied or fit a different approved designation. 

Developers for the project have urged the city to install a payment-in-lieu program that would allow them to pay a fee instead of following the 25% rule. The city could then use the funds collected by the fee-in-lieu program to carry out its housing goals. 

At a September discussion-only City Council meeting, Bartley presented council with a variety of tools the city could implement to spur downtown development, including a fee-in-lieu system. Council has not yet taken action to implement any of the strategies proposed at the meeting. 

The proposals submitted by developers are tentative and may be changed during an approval process that is often lengthy. There will be plenty of opportunities for the public to comment on the proposals before they can be approved, including at public hearings before the City Council and Planning Commission.

This is a developing story that ELi will continue to report on as we find out more.

Correction: This story was updated to correct the number of bedrooms in The Howard.