Council addresses some student concerns
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The East Village project.
It’s a name that brings skepticism among some students and residents. But the East Village project, which would redevelop areas around East Grand River Avenue, Stoddard Avenue, Bogue Street and the Red Cedar River, could be a misunderstood production, as East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis, City Manager Ted Staton and Councilmember Nathan Triplett told the State News Editorial Board Thursday. There are many potential benefits, even among the negatives.
The fact that these dwellings will also offer more amenities and will be in better condition than more rundown Cedar Village properties is a plus. This city could use a more entertaining downtown area, and East Village will likely provide that. East Village residents only will have to walk around the corner or down the stairs for enjoyment.
It has been commonly said that East Village will reduce the amount of student dwelling units, but officials said student residential units will increase by about 80 compared to Cedar Village, a number that seems unrealistically high.
There are questions Loomis, Staton and Triplett had trouble answering, though, mainly regarding the issue of affordability. Pierce Education Properties, the San Diego-based development company spearheading the East Village project, has said prices would be comparable to that of Campus Village Apartments. Most of the apartments in Cedar Village, however, are less expensive than those in Campus Village.
City officials said the market will dictate the price of the East Village apartments, but it seems unlikely that they will be competitive with current Cedar Village rates. First, property values will increase, necessitating a rise in prices. Second, the apartments will be modernized, meaning prices will increase. Staton mentioned, however, that Cedar Village and property owners have had their chances to redevelop and modernize their properties but haven’t.
This is a valid point, but it strays from the fact that people in Cedar Village often choose that location for financial reasons.
And while he said the market will dictate the price of the dwellings, it’s more believable that students who can’t afford the initial prices will be forced out of the area and to the north of East Lansing, where rent is cheaper. This northward migration could be exacerbated by other housing units being forced to upgrade and modernize to compete with East Village, thus driving up the price of other homes in the area.
But time is running out for the East Village project. There are 18 months left to acquire the property for the East Village project, and it seems that if the property is not ready for construction by then, the project will die.
This does not mean, however, that the city will use eminent domain, a way to take private property if it’s deemed necessary for public use, the officials said several times. The city has not used eminent domain to acquire property — not even for City Center II — and the contract with Pierce Education Properties requires the developer to acquire all land, meaning the city will not be involved.
Eminent domain is illegal according to the state of Michigan constitution, and East Lansing residents should not fear the city abusing its power or violating the state constitution, Staton said. There is much uncertainty with the East Village project, right down to whether it will even get started. But with 18 months to go, hopefully the realities of such a development become more clear.
Commentary
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student
(03/06/09 12:35am)Report
I will be praying FOR the East Village Redevelopment.
TB
(03/06/09 7:09am)Report
There are 2 things that concern me. Why are they contracting with a firm from San Diego? There are enough local companies around that they could work with them and still be assured of healthy competition. Also are they LEED certified buildings being planned? Are they even thinking about how efficient the buildings will be? I haven’t seen any mention of meeting any requirements in this regard.
Sally
(03/06/09 7:15am)Report
“This is a valid point, but it strays from the fact that people in Cedar Village often choose that location for financial reasons.”
I’m confused as to how this can be true. I lived in Cedar Village a few years ago and paid over $500 a month for a 2 bedroom apartment (I believe the total was $1050 total). The biggest reason my friend and I considered not living there was the price, far more expensive than many of the other locations we considered. You can visit the DTN website for the current prices, it does not look like they’ve decreased any since I lived there.
The reason we chose the Cedar Village was twofold: the location and the fun atmosphere. If the East Village project comes to life (and I hope it does) the location would still be the same. The atmosphere would be a decided improvement over the filth and tear gas run ins. What we can gain from the project far outweighs what could be lost.
Todd
(03/06/09 11:27am)Report
Two important items were left out of this. First, the city has declared perfectly good property “blighted” in an attempt to strong arm private property owners and second, the city received a grant from the EPA to conduct “brownfield” assessments on perfectly good property. Students and the community must stand up and FIGHT this obvious abuse of private property rights.
Danny
(03/06/09 12:38pm)Report
Can someone please explain to me why this massive amount of money is being invested in the current state of Michigan’s economy? Tuition keeps rising, jobs keep getting lost, the stock market continues its decline. Who is going to be able to afford everything that comes along with this project? Rates comparable to Campus Village are a significant increase as opposed to Cedar Village’s rates. A 2 person apartment in Campus Village would cost around $700 per person.
Meanwhile, the entire area will be a construction zone for years, completely displacing students while apartments are being built. Loomis claims that new fraternity houses will be built, but where does he expect the displaced fraternities to go in the meantime? He clearly is not capable enough to comprehend that a fraternity without a house equates to no fraternity at all.
This entire project is yet another way that the city of East Lansing mistreats its students. How stupid are these people to not realize that the students MAKE THIS TOWN? East Lansing is nothing without the university. Still they act like they are God’s gift to Earth pushing everyone else around like they don’t matter. Who isn’t sick of these losers?
It’s also very classy of the city to contract a company from San Diego for this job.
Hans Larsen, IV (The Younger)
(03/06/09 2:11pm)Report
Editorial Board:
Who owns the land where the proposed development is planned? Look up all of the names on the cityofeastlansing.com website and ask each one of them if they are going to sell!
How much will it cost to purchase the land?
How much public taxpayer money will be necessary to fund this private development project? Did you read 10-9-08 LSJ article?
What is the likelihood that a private company—in this case Pierce—will force the current property owners to sell all of these properties by the deadline? Did you ask Pierce how they are going to do that and how much it will cost?
According to a 10-9-08 LSJ article, the City of East Lansing plans on using $200 Million of taxpayer backed bonds—PUBLIC DEBT—to fund this private project!
Please do not publish every deceptive statement that Staton and Loomis tells you. Ask tough questions! Demand answers! Don’t blindly believe everything you hear. You are serving as a PR tool for them, rather than helping to inform and protect your readers.
HERE ARE THE MAJOR PLAYERS HERE; YOU ONLY PUBLISHED WHAT EL GOV’T STATED! This is a very one-sided story!
Pierce: the develper
City Government: City Manager Staton and City Council
EL Property Taxpayers
MSU Students
Current Property Owners
Please consider all of the people involved in the story.
Hans Larsen, IV
(The Younger)
Paragraphs
(03/06/09 2:15pm)Report
Congratulations to the State News editorial board for using paragraphs consisting of multiple sentences. Keep it up!
Let's Address the Real Issue Here...
(03/09/09 1:09pm)Report
Ian Brown still has a comic. I think that needs to be taken care of before anything else in East Lansing.
John
(03/11/09 1:36pm)Report
Eminent Domain boggles my mind. What if that were YOUR property the gov’t is buying/stealing???
Hans Larsen, IV (The Younger)
(03/12/09 1:28am)Report
The article states that Pierce—The Developer—is required to acquire the land—NOT THE CITY. Only the Government can invoke EMINENT DOMAIN. If a private party buys up the land, then they are doing it a Market Price—by definition. Therefore, according to the City, EMINENT DOMAIN WILL NOT BE AN OPTION FOR THE EAST VILLAGE PROJECT.
The questions are whether or not the current property owners are willing to sell and at what price? They have stated that they are unwilling to sell now, but at what price would they be willing to sell?
Don’t wait for the State News writers to ask the right questions and find out the answers, just focus on how wonderful the East Village will be when it is finished.
Hans Larsen, IV
(The Younger)