East Lansing Resuming Artspace Effort to Explore Affordable Housing for Artists

The City of East Lansing will resume working with a nonprofit organization to explore developing affordable housing for artists in the city.

The city is working with Artspace, a Minneapolis-based real estate nonprofit organization that serves as a developer providing affordable housing and work spaces for artists. The city paid $35,000 for a preliminary report from Artspace in 2021, however progress stalled due to low staffing in the city’s planning department.

The “creatives” who live in the housing could be a wide-range of artists, from painters to videographers to performers and more. The preliminary report recommends a mixed-use space downtown, with artists living on upper floors and commercial and studio space below.

Who an artist could be, according to the Artspace preliminary report.

The city will look back to review the preliminary report when it resumes exploring an Artspace project.

“Things change, so with the second phase we will be reevaluating those sites but also looking for other locations that might be good spaces for that type of development,” said Lori Mullins, the executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, or DDA.

The preliminary report was funded by the Arts Commission, City Council and DDA. The DDA will fund the next phase of the study, which will examine if there is a market for the project. Mullins noted that an agreement was reached during phase one that if the development is aimed to be downtown, the DDA would provide the funding for the study.

Bringing an Artspace development could help retain graduating Michigan State University students, improve public spaces, bring creative businesses to the city and enhance local events, the preliminary study says.

Spaces in the Artspace development would be reserved for people who make below the median area income. Most creatives in Artspace developments have an income source besides their art.

Artspace developments have been both new structures and repurposed buildings. Projects are funded by a combination of philanthropic and public contributions, according to the preliminary report.

How an Artspace development in Dearborn was funded, according to a presentation Artspace gave City Council in 2021.

For phase two of the study, Artspace will lead a series of discussions, Mullins said. A core group made up of community members will plan meetings to share information and gather public feedback.

“The idea is to gather a lot of input over those three days and use that input to develop the feasibility study,” Mullins said.

The dates will be finalized in the coming weeks, but Mullins said they will occur this summer.

Meegan Holland, a community member who helped lead the effort to explore an Artspace project, emphasized the lack of Michigan State University student retention and affordable housing as reasons for pursuing the development.

“It’s no secret that affordable housing is an issue in East Lansing and beyond. We have a hard time retaining the many creatives who graduate from MSU. There are many reasons for that, but affordable housing is certainly one of them,” Holland said.

Artspace currently has 56 operating properties, and five more being developed, including one in Detroit. Once a development is built, the organization manages the property and ensures rent remains affordable.

Depending on the results of phase two, Mullins said, “[We would move] into a more serious discussion about where that [project] could be and begin the predevelopment activities around that type of development.”