Study: East Lansing losing residents to better housing options nearby
EAST LANSING − A 27-acre city-owned plot of land in East Lansing could act as a proving ground for new housing that leans away from college students but retains apartment or duplex formats to keep the homes more affordable.
The East Lansing study is the most comprehensive for the city and it mimic what the city of Lansing and other area leaders have been saying: Housing is a problem, especially for low and moderate income residents who are not students.
The study commissioned by the city was to determine who possible future residents are, whether they were likely to be renters or own their home, what kind of home they want and what prices they are likely to be willing to pay. The combination of the study and proposals for the land, recently valued at $2.8 million, could lead to bigger zoning changes throughout the city.
The land is at Coleman and West roads in East Lansing, near the Eastwood Towne Center complex, and the city recently closed its bidding process for development of the site. It will likely be built with the goals of the new housing study in mind, low- and middle-income housing, and would require zoning changes because it is currently allowable for onlycommercial development.
The city is losing potential residents to neighboring communitiesthat have more housing options, especially for independent seniors and young professionals, according to the study.
It also showsthere is more than enough student housing, the growth of which has outpaced Michigan State University enrollment in recent years, according to the study.
Instead, the city should focus on seniors and young professionals, with an eye toward the northern partsof the city.
There is a big caveat to the study, however, since the data collection was done months before Michigan State University announced its largest-ever freshman class.
Payton Heins, one of the study's authors and director of Michigan initiatives for the Flint-based Center for Community Progress, said that if Michigan State University continues to see rising enrollment, that may mean the city may want to consider encouraging more student-centered growth than what the study found.
There is a housing shortage in the Greater Lansing area, fueled by years of low residential construction rates and poor maintenance of housing stock that is becoming unrepairable.
That aging housing stock is a big worry, Thomas Fehrenbach, East Lansing's housing director, said in an email.
The useful age of houses can vary, from the style and location to how well they have been maintained, but a general look at the age of houses can be a window into how many can be currently used or feasibly saved, said Heins.
MORE: Ritzy student housing is outpacing MSU enrollment. What East Lansing wants to do about it
Ingham County faces an aging housing stock. More than two-thirds of the homes in the county were built before 1979. The year 1979 is significant because homes newer than that year can be assumed to not require expensive lead or asbestos mitigation, Heins said.
Those homes, if well maintained, could have a generation or so of life left but many have not been maintained and getting close to the end of their usefulness. A significant amount of new housing – that could mean new construction or converting other spaces to housing – is needed to keep up with demand even as the region's population remains stagnant, according to the study.
In Lansing, 83% of homes were built before 1979, according to recent U.S. Census figures. The Michigan average, according to a separate state study in 2016, was 63%.
For home owners and cities like East Lansing, having a newer stock of houses gives more options, she said.
"One of the primary things we found - and it's anecdotal - is that there is a lack of resources for home repair for occupied houses," Heins said.
That can turn an aging home into an unusable home and offering or promoting more incentives can help to keep homes livable, she said.
Contact Mike Ellis at 517-267-0415 or mellis@lsj.com or on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Study: East Lansing losing residents to better housing options nearby
