Alexander Alusheff

Lansing State Journal

LANSING – The Red Cedar Renaissance project on Michigan Avenue is expected to include two boutique hotels - a Hyatt Centric, Moxy Hotel - along with a medical office building, five restaurants, 129 town homes and student housing that can accommodate 1,200 people, developers said.

Construction on the $380 million Red Cedar Renaissance project is slated to begin on June 1, said Joel Ferguson, president of Ferguson Development. The project is being developed by Ferguson-Continental LLC, a partnership between Ferguson and Columbus, Ohio-based Continental Real Estate Cos.

“This will be a game changer for Lansing and East Lansing,” Ferguson said. “It will be a catalyst for other activities happening.”

A Hyatt Centric is a modern-style boutique hotel that incorporates the work of local artists into the room design and typically includes a restaurant and bar. Moxy is a Marriott brand that markets itself as an affordable boutique hotel geared toward the Millennial generation. Renderings show the Hyatt Centric at nine stories tall and the Moxy at five.

No definitive agreements have been signed with either chain, but Ferguson-Continental has existing relationships with each company's brokering firm, said Christopher Stralkowski, executive project manager for Ferguson Development. The company can't sign a lease with either chain as it doesn't own the land yet. However, it signed a comprehensive development agreement with the City of Lansing on Nov. 6, 2014. City Council approved zoning changes on the golf course to accommodate residential and commercial development on March 7.

Hyatt is interested in expanding its brand across Michigan and always pursuing opportunities to do so, said Aurelia Vasquez, director of Corporate Communications for Hyatt, in an email. Vasquez said Hyatt does not comment on potential developments where a definitive agreement has yet to be signed.

A representative from Moxy Hotels could not be reached for comment.

Site plans show two retail buildings that will sit across from each hotel, totaling 39,000 square feet, which will accommodate the restaurants and shops. Three-story town homes will also be located there. The medical office building will be constructed west of the main development near the corner of Michigan Avenue and Clippert Street.

"What's beginning to take shape is what we think will be one of the most transformational projects in the last 10 years," said Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero. "It's a new welcome mat for people coming into the city. The Red Cedar will become a commerce center and a great place to live and visit."

The student housing complex will be southeast of the main development, with an access road off Reniger Court. Once built, it will be managed by Columbus, Ohio-based Hallmark Campus Communities.

Between the student housing and town homes, the development could bring in roughly 1,500 residents.

"We're very excited about the project," said Bob Trezise, president and CEO of the Lansing Economic Area Partnership. "This will bring in a tremendous amount of income tax and revenue into the city. Michigan Avenue is developing bigger and better and faster than anyone could have thought. Its the backbone of the global economic strategy for the region."

But he cautioned that the project is far from set in stone, still requiring approvals from the city council, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

"A lot of public decision making remains on this," he said.

Ferguson estimates it could take one-and-a-half to two years to finish construction.

The development will also be accessed by a new road to be constructed off Clippert Street, which will run along the southern edge of Red Cedar Renaissance, separating it from an Ingham County drain project.

The drain project, which could cost up to $30 million, would reconfigure the Montgomery Drain and help to remove large amounts of pollution from the runoff that gets into the Red Cedar River, said county Drain Commissioner Pat Lindemann. The plan is to build rain gardens in Frandor Shopping Center and small ponds in Ranney Park to soak up pollution from the streets, parking lots and buildings in the watershed.

Part of the drain project will be on the 32 acres south of the Red Cedar Renaissance project, north of Kalamazoo Street. Lindemann said that part of the golf course will be converted back into a natural habitat. For every tree torn down to make way for the project, three more will be planted he said.

"This not only reclaims nature but provides much needed reinvestment in the city," Lindemann said of Red Cedar Renaissance. "It complements the drain project."

The Ingham County Drain Commission will build parks and trails as part of the drain project.

“It’s the best of both worlds,” Ferguson said. “Besides having these things that people have to pay for … we’re going to have a venue for free activities. People will be able to get something out of this property.”

Contact Alexander Alusheff at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.