Center City District
Newman Lofts Settlement Upended and Delayed by Concerns at DDA
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A deal that looked closed has been opened back up after DDA Vice Chair Jim Croom, an attorney, questioned the wording Council approved in a 4-1 vote on Tuesday.
Center City District
Despite ‘Lack of Trust’ in Developers, Council Votes 4-1 to Settle the Newman Lofts Dispute
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“I am personally dismayed and appalled at the behavior of this developer,” senior advocate Nell Kuhnmuench told the Council. She was not alone in expressing those sentiments.
Center City District
Center City Contract May Be Amended to Allow Illegal Rentals at Newman Lofts. What Then?
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The idea of changing the Center City District agreements in the way proposed has some roiled. But not everyone thinks it’s a bad idea. ELi’s Alice Dreger reports.
Development
Council Waffles Over What to Do About Newman Lofts
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The five members of East Lansing’s City Council don’t all agree on what should be done five months after the illegal rentals at Newman Lofts came to light.
Center City District
Timeline of East Lansing’s Center City District Project
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Here’s a comprehensive timeline of East Lansing’s Center City District redevelopment, beginning with the press conference where it was announced.
Arts & Cultures
The Top Ten East Lansing Stories of 2020
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What were the biggest stories in East Lansing for 2020? ELi’s Publisher and Managing Editor bring you the top 10 list.
Your ELi
The Ten Stories That Meant the Most to Your ELi Reporters in 2020
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From ELHS closing due to Covid-19, to volunteers sewing masks to donate, to the Harbor Bay dealings, our reporters highlight stories they enjoyed bringing you in 2020. At this page, you can click on “play” buttons to hear individual recordings of the articles read by their own reporters!
Center City District
Episode 8 and A Special Edition of The ‘East Lansing Insider’ Are Now Live
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The team at ELi brings you the regular weekly pod and a special edition from Alice Dreger and Emily Joan Elliott on the refinancing of the Center City District bonds. Listen on.
Center City District
Who Really Benefited from the Center City Bonds’ Refinancing?
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Spoiler alert: the developers benefited. And now, with yet another of the deal’s financial protections for the City seeming to fall away, former mayor Mark Meadows is saying that “injunctive relief should be sought.”
Center City District
East Lansing BRA Advised to Refinance Bonds to Avoid “Considerable Headline and Reputational Risk”
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Who is the investor for the refinancing bonds? Mark Bell’s father. Again. And any chance of saving that $6 million in taxes appears to be evaporating.
Center City District
We Still Don’t Know What’s Happening With The Center City Bonds
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One week away from a $2.4 million shortfall for the payment due to the bondholder, many questions remain unanswered. Not least, the $6 million question. ELi’s Alice Dreger reports.
Center City District
City Council Votes 4-1 to Delay Enforcement on Newman Lofts Violations
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The lone dissenter, Council member Lisa Babcock, objected to the developers’ “hostage-taking” tactics and “the pigeon driving the bus.” But she was outvoted as the rest of Council found it problematic to insist the under-55 tenants be evicted.
Center City District
Babcock Questions Center City District Bond Refinancing, Gets Some Interesting Answers
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Tuesday night’s Council meeting confirmed a lot of what ELi has been reporting about the Center City District bonds. What did we learn?
Center City District
CORRECTION: $6M Bond Dispute Will NOT Get a Fresh Pair of Legal Eyes
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A new and scorching message from Mark Meadows and a response from Miller Canfield to his claims: the latest in the Center City District bond scene.
Center City District
New City Attorney Asked to Look at $6M Question of the Center City District Bonds
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A new review by ELi of prior meetings on the subject finds yet more evidence that this matter won’t be simple to sort out. See the key video clips now.
Center City District
Investors Interested in $29M East Lansing Bond Offer Must RSVP Fast
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Experts are describing the Center City District bonds as “hairy” and having “sharp edges.” What’s so weird about them? Alice Dreger unpacks it for you.
Development
Documents Show Harbor Bay’s Persistent Efforts to Change Deal
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A Freedom of Information Act request from ELi yielded a cache of informative documents regarding the Center City District and Newman Lofts. Andrew Graham unpacks them.
Center City District
East Lansing Bond Default? Not If Mark Bell Pays His Father $2.4M, As Required
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Why is East Lansing’s government poised to take on as much as $4.4M in debt when it doesn’t have to? The execution of the Center City District deal continues to baffle even experts.
Center City District
As Default (Allegedly) Looms, the Center City District Bond Now Involves a Myriad of Disputes
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Now debates over the Center City Bond are heating up, as staff say the BRA is in danger of default, and Mark Meadows says it’s the developers who owe the shortfall, not the public.
Center City District
Meadows: Harbor Bay Started Asking for Age-Restriction Elimination Over a Year Ago
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Steve Willobee came asking for accommodation long before Covid-19, says former mayor Mark Meadows. Now the City has issued violation notices to Harbor Bay, requiring the tenants of the four illegal rentals be moved out.
Center City District
Council Members Stunned to Learn Harbor Bay Is Illegally Renting to Non-Seniors at Newman Lofts
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Mark Bell and Steve Willobee confirmed to Council on Tuesday night that they have rented four units to people under the 55+ age restriction. This violates local law, the development agreement made with Council, and the building’s permit.
Development
Newman Lofts’ Tenants to City Council: Please Deny Harbor Bay’s Request
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“They need to abide by the terms of this agreement,” twenty-two tenants tell City Council about the Center City developers. Popular opinion appears aligned with the tenants.
Development
As Newman Lofts Controversy Continues, We Show You What Was Said in 2017
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In 2017, the developers were confident they had a viable project. Now they say they need Council’s help. Andrew Graham reports for ELi.
Development
ELi Board of Directors Responds to Harbor Bay’s “Ethics Complaint”
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“We will continue to operate under the conviction that extraordinary actors in our city require extraordinary scrutiny. Especially when they are seeking the taxpayers’ money.”
Development
Center City Developers Threaten Legal Action If They Don’t Get Their Way; Also Now Spooking Elderly Tenants
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“I’ve heard the complaints from Harbor Bay,” Council member Lisa Babcock tells ELi. “It looks like they’re having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
Center City District
BRA Votes to Rescind Center City Bond Resolution
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East Lansing’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority learned a lot more this week about the $25M existing bond and voted to get a financial advisor before committing to a refinancing proposal.
Development
BRA Will Meet Tomorrow to Re-Do Bond, as Developer Pleads for Understanding
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A special meeting of the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has been called to deal with major questions about what the City really owes the developer in taxes on the Center City District deal.
Center City District
Last Week’s Center City Bond Vote Was Based on the Wrong Numbers; They’re Off by $6 Million
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Is East Lansing’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA) about to accidentally issue over $2 million in essentially worthless bonds?
Center City District
BRA Approves Bond Up to $33.5M, Interest Rate Up to 8%, with $1M More for the Developers
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The developer came well armed with representatives, but the City went in with no financial advisor to this deal. Its usual advisor is actually being paid with public money to represent the developers.
Center City District
East Lansing May Borrow $33 Million to Pay a $25 Million Debt. Who’s Getting that $8 Million?
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The Bell family of developers is back. What new Center City District public financing deal will be made with them this time? ELi’s Alice Dreger reports what we know.
COVID-19
Barrio Tacos May Open Soon, But Jolly Pumpkin Not Until Fall
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A rep for Barrio’s says that restaurant will reopen if Albert Ave. is closed off for outside take-out dining. But Jolly Pumpkin won’t open before Labor Day.
Development
What’s Happening with That Thing in East Lansing?
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What’s happening with Newman Lofts, police oversight, big downtown construction, and more? ELi brings you up to speed.
Development
City Council Firmly Opposed to Developers’ Ask on Newman Lofts
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East Lansing’s Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are willing to consider converting the senior housing to some other uses.
Development
Center City Developers Want to Convert Senior Housing to Allow Student Rentals
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Many predicted this would happen, but few expected it so soon. What now?