EAST LANSING — An April 21 City Council vote on an approximately $90 million, 13-story mixed-use development in downtown will not happen, because a Minnesota developer wants to resubmit designs, East Lansing officials confirmed.
City Council was scheduled to vote on a special use request that would have allowed Cody Dietrich of Minnesota-based Tareen Development Partners to build more than eight stories.
Dietrich postponed the vote “to a future date (indefinite but likely in the next few months) for a redesign of the project,” city planner Landon Bartley said in an email.
Bartley said Dietrich has not shared anything about his future designs with him and his staff. They’re scheduled to talk in the next few weeks.
Any new proposal will mean similar review by the planning commission, downtown development authority and council, the planner said.
“There will not be a vote today. He asked for a further postponement of the project and he did not give us a new day,” Mayor Erik Altmann said, declining further comment.
Dietrich could not be immediately reached for comment.
He has spent months facing criticism from local business owners and residents because of the height of the project, the intent to provide hundreds of apartments for Michigan State University students, and parking issues.
Dietrich’s proposal was going to remove a surface lot with 86 parking spaces, while assuring 83 parking stalls on two levels of parking for downtown visitors. Those parking spaces would have been for public use, and residents would have had to purchase parking passes for offsite ramps or commuter lots.
City councilmembers also have warned Dietrich they weren’t entirely in favor of the project.
During a March 17 meeting, Councilmember Mark Meadows said he was unlikely to approve the project without certain agreements in place.
“I’m probably not going to vote yes on this unless we have a contract with the city associated with this with regard to the parking and control of the parking structure if it is built and also a proposed contract with the city with regard to the other parking spaces that you’re going to be leasing,” Meadows said. “I want this property, this location, to be functional and a positive thing within the community.”
Dietrich was going to need a “super majority,” or four of council’s five votes, to proceed with his current design.
Contact editor Susan Vela at svela@lsj.com or 248-873-7044. Follow her on Twitter @susanvela.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Developer pulls proposal for $90M, 13-story East Lansing development
Reporting by Susan Vela, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
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