EAST LANSING, Mich. — The MSU Board of Trustees will reconsider a scaled-back version of the Spartan Gateway development proposal on Friday. East Lansing residents living near Michigan State University previously expressed concerns about the project, and hope to be included in the process for the new proposal.
- The revised plan eliminates the originally proposed sports arena and relocates the development to a more central campus location.
- Neighbors near the original site on Trowbridge Road have expressed concerns about increased traffic in an already congested area.
- Residents are requesting collaboration with MSU as the university moves forward with development plans.
WATCH: East Lansing neighbors respond to MSU's revised Spartan Gateway development plans
It may be quiet in Jeff Friedle's neighborhood now, but on game days for Michigan State sports, the area transforms.
"We have 20 or 30 cars, at least, parking here. Of course, parking over on the Flowerpot side is dense and crazy," Friedle said.
Friedle says traffic and parking concerns were among the issues residents had with the original Spartan Gateway proposal. The initial plan would have transformed a green space at the corner of Harrison and Trowbridge Roads into a recreation district featuring a hotel, housing, and a new sports venue.
The MSU Board of Trustees approved the original plan in April, but will now reconsider a modified version of the project on Friday. The revised plan eliminates the sports arena and relocates the development to a more central location on campus.
While the changes address some neighborhood concerns, Friedle says residents remain uneasy about the project as they await more details.
"As they do the planning for the new proposal, it would be nice if the university would collaborate with the neighborhood and at least get some of our comments and ideas about what we think is good, and what we think would be problematic for us," Friedle said.
I reached out to MSU for additional details about the revised proposal and to ask whether neighbor feedback would be considered in the planning process, but did not receive a response by the time this story aired.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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