The Charter Township of Lansing and the cities of Lansing and East Lansing established the Michigan Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority to prevent deterioration in business districts, encourage historic preservation and promote economic growth along Michigan Avenue from downtown East Lansing west to Pere Marquette Street in Lansing. Since the initial creation of the Authority, it has been expanded east of East Lansing to Webberville, now including several cities and townships.
Michigan Avenue will be a premier, regional destination for work, leisure, education and recreation for local residents and visitors. Attractive streetscapes will welcome visitors. Recreational facilities through a network of parks, paths and other green spaces will be linked. Redevelopment and investment will benefit the entire corridor and region. In addition to the local transit system, the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists will be met, thus, allowing area residents and visitors to be able to visit a diverse mix of local and national businesses.
While this may not happen with a single redevelopment project; it will be the cumulative product of many smaller, coordinated initiatives by many governmental entities, private business, local organization and residents that transform Michigan Avenue.
Update: The first step was to appoint members to the governing board of the Authority; Lansing Township appointed its members at its November 5, 2013 meeting.
At this time there is no anticipation of savings as the Corridor Improvement Authority Act intention is for economic growth and to increase in taxable value for the municipalities that are participating. Lansing Township anticipates an increase of $5,000,000 in its taxable value for properties within the Authority.
There have been no barriers to implementation; however, working with several governmental agencies may cause delays to the implementation. The governing Board will meet to outline a timeline and steps to accomplish the improvements.
Update 2014: The governing board is scheduled to meet in February to collaboratively plan implementation and to establish a timeline for implementation, which may take several years, possibly as long a 10 years.