Alexander Alusheff

Lansing State Journal

LANSING - From her tiny shop on East Michigan Avenue, Elizabeth McMurray has seen many businesses come and go.

She remembers the sporting goods store that used to be next to her on the 1800 block, the “beautiful, big white house” that used to sit across from her shop and the tire store down the street. She also remembers a grocery store and flower shop as well.

“This neighborhood was more vibrant in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” said McMurray, the owner of Liz’s Alterations, which opened at 1810 E. Michigan Ave. in 1978. “People fell apart in the late ‘80s and started going out of business. There are a lot more empty buildings.”

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That white house across from her was torn down years ago. The tire store closed and became home to a handful of failed restaurants. It’s a marijuana dispensary now. The sporting goods store, grocer and flower shop are gone, too.

But this strip of Michigan Avenue on Lansing's east side is being revived one block at a time.

Two blocks west, the wooden frame of a new four-story building towers over the neighborhood, becoming more fleshed out each week. Scott Gillespie’s $5 million Venue at East Town will house 39 apartments with a taphouse and coffee shop operating on the first floor. It’s expected to be complete by late summer.

On the 2100 block, Arcadia Ales & Smokehouse is under construction. The 10,000-square-foot brewery and restaurant is expected to open this summer as well.

One block farther, Gillespie is planning another four-story development similar to the Venue, called Provident Place at East Town. The $7 million project would include 33 residential units and 9,500 square feet of retail space on the first floor. Provident Place could be approved by the city as early as June.

When the three projects are completed, the developers hope they turn the neighborhood into a destination, complementing the character that places like The Green Door, The Avenue Cafe and Strange Matter Coffee Co. already bring to the diverse neighborhood.

"This part of Lansing has always been unique," Gillespie said. "I think this area can be further unique by ... giving all the people in this neighborhood a place where they can walk for groceries, for dinner, for flowers. We need more destination-type areas in our city."

Reviving the neighborhood

In the '80s, Gillespie used to ride his bike to the 2000 block of Michigan Avenue with his mother to buy meat at Lindemann's East Town Market. He remembers the many dinners his family had at Emil's.

"As a child, I remember (the neighborhood) being vibrant and busy," said Gillespie, 41, who grew up on LaSalle Gardens off of Kipling Street. "It was the place to go."

By 2013, when Gillespie started buying up the buildings on the block, most of the businesses he remembered were gone. Half of the south side of the block was vacant, and some of the businesses that remained were in buildings that were falling apart. When Emil's closed in 2015, he bought that, too.

"The buildings were deteriorating," he said. "It's sad to see that happen. It was exciting for me as a developer and builder to visualize the future and to plan for a way to transform the avenue."

He tore down six Craftsman-style buildings on the block last summer to make way for The Venue, which will accommodate roughly 120 residents on the top three floors. Rajje's Taphouse, a restaurant and craft beer bar, and Strange Matter Coffee Co., which is currently located across the street, will open on the first floor in the fall.

The plan was met with harsh criticism from the neighborhood at first. Residents argued Gillespie was tearing down historically significant buildings and replacing them with a modern development that was too tall and would clash with the aesthetics of the area. Gillespie hosted meetings with the neighborhood and changed the facade's design to include Craftsman elements.

"We may not totally agree with everything in the project, but the fact that he took the time to reach out to the neighborhood, it gave people the opportunity to voice their concerns," said resident Nancy Mahlow. "He took a lot of what people had to say."

Mahlow is the president of the Eastside Neighborhood Organization. She thinks the benefits of the projects outweigh the drawbacks, though she'd rather see more shops in the developments instead of restaurants and bars.

"I don't want to see Michigan Avenue be an entertainment district," Mahlow said.

She's worried about Arcadia Ales and Smokehouse, which is roughly two blocks away from her house on Fairview Avenue. The brewery won't have much onsite parking, and she believes it will cause more people to park on side streets, which are already used by patrons of The Green Door and Avenue Cafe.

Kris Elliott, of Urban Feast, who is developing the brewery, said in an email that the developments underway are designed to encourage people to get to them on foot. The brewery, he said, will include a carry-out entrance in the back meant for people in the neighborhood to grab a quick bite to eat.

Arcadia Ales & Smokehouse was originally slated to open last fall but was delayed in the permitting process. Elliott said it was further delayed by a decision to pursue a liquor license to serve wine and cocktails.

When it opens this summer, it will be the first time a major Michigan brewery has had a presence in Lansing since Michigan Brewing Co. closed in 2012. On top of Arcadia's usual beer lineup, the brewery will serve six Lansing-only brews onsite. It will also have an outdoor patio that can accommodate 150 people.

"We believe that, when complete, it will feel as if it has always been there," Elliott wrote.

Changing perceptions

From time to time, Cara Nader might overhear some of the college students who patronize her coffee shop call Lansing's east side the "bad part of town."

But, to people who live there like Mahlow or work there like Nader, that's far from the truth.

"This neighborhood is safe," said Nader, who has owned Strange Matter Coffee Co. at 2001 E. Michigan Ave. for more than two years. "It's so accessible ... and it's affordable for grad students."

It's also one of the most diverse areas of town. And that's one of the neighborhood's strengths, Mahlow said.

"We're a close-knit community," she said. "We look out for each other."

Nader hopes the new developments in the neighborhood will change people's perceptions of it, especially the new restaurants.

"This area can really use some more food options," said Nader, who will be adding a bakery to her business when she moves across the street. "It will create a lot of foot traffic. That will be super beneficial to any business on this block."

McMurray, 82, who has lived in the house behind her shop since 1992, welcomes the change.

“I’m glad to see the area being redeveloped,” she said. “It was almost getting to be a ghost town. If they want my building, I'll sell them mine, and I'll rent a space."

Alexander Alusheff is a reporter with the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at (517) 388-5973 or aalusheff@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexalusheff.