East Lansing Info (https://eastlansinginfo.news/tag/center-city-district/)
During a presentation, the City Manager proposed using ARPA funds for three new projects. Council may vote next week to allocate more than $4 million of its ARPA funds. What will the money be spent on?
When one thinks local business, 7-Eleven doesn’t readily come to mind. This week, ELi’s Andrew Graham hopes to change that thinking with an interview with Ali Haider, who has owned and operated the downtown 7-Eleven for more than five years. Listen in!
On this episode, Babcock shares with ELi who she is endorsing in the upcoming Council race and her biggest regret. The team also discusses one of the weirdest things they have covered recently. What was it?
Ali Haider, the owner of East Lansing’s downtown 7-Eleven store, explains what his business has gone through with all of the street closures. Plus, two residents of Newman Lofts weigh in.
If the City had wanted to prosecute the rental violations under East Lansing’s zoning code, the fines would have come to about $100,000 per year. What did developer Mark Bell say about Newman Lofts in 2018?
Lisa Babcock was again the only objector, calling this a “sweetheart deal” for the developers and questioning why the City would give up the right to enforce its own ordinance. But Mayor Aaron Stephens said this contract amendment was the right move.
Interested artists have until March 30, by 5 p.m. to submit their qualifications. Sarah Spohn reports on the details.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
Here’s a comprehensive timeline of East Lansing’s Center City District redevelopment, beginning with the press conference where it was announced.
What were the biggest stories in East Lansing for 2020? ELi’s Publisher and Managing Editor bring you the top 10 list.
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!
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday night’s Council meeting confirmed a lot of what ELi has been reporting about the Center City District bonds. What did we learn?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
In 2017, the developers were confident they had a viable project. Now they say they need Council’s help. Andrew Graham reports for ELi.
“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.”
“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.”
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.
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.
Is East Lansing’s Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA) about to accidentally issue over $2 million in essentially worthless bonds?
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.
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.
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.
What’s happening with Newman Lofts, police oversight, big downtown construction, and more? ELi brings you up to speed.
East Lansing’s Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are willing to consider converting the senior housing to some other uses.
Many predicted this would happen, but few expected it so soon. What now?