New Apartment Development Helping To Revitalize Lansing

It's hard to miss Lansing's newest apartment building, thanks to the brightly colored exterior of the Midtown complex off Michigan Avenue.

"We said lets really stand out and do something bold," said property developed Patrick Gillespie, President of the Gillespie Group.

It's even harder not to notice all of the construction projects the Gillespie group is taking on around the city. From finished buildings to plans still on the drawing board, it's all part of a vision to revitalize the area.

"Michigan avenue has seen its ups and downs," Gillespie said. "I think the down times are done and we're starting to see this upswing."

With a focus on residential and mixed use properties, Midtown is just the latest building in Gillespie's growing portfolio. The developer also has two downtown apartments complexes in the works, Marketplace and the Outfield.

The added housing is meeting the demand of students and young professionals moving to the area. Forty-eight of Midtown's 66 apartments have already been rented, and half of those residents are international students.

"All three projects would mean over 300 new residents to the city of Lansing, which is a pretty big jump compared to what we've been seeing population wise," Gillespie added.

It's a vision Mayor Virg Berneo is on-board with, hoping to boost the area's economic development.

"Our goal is to create such a place, here such an urban environment that people want to stay and start a business here," Bernero said.

The Mayor says building up the Midtown area has been overlooked for decades, but as the main stretch connecting downtown Lansing and downtown East Lansing there's a lot of potential.

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New Apartment Development Helping To Revitalize Lansing