‘Hub’ Taking Shape and Its Space is Filling Up Quickly

“The Hub on Campus,” currently in the final stages of construction (above) at the southeast corner of Bogue Street and Grand River Avenue, is on track to be open for residents and retail businesses by the start of the 2019-20 school year, according to representatives of the developers.

As of early May, approximately 80 percent of the building’s residential apartments had been pre-leased. The developer’s representatives say they expect the building to be completely occupied this fall.

Two retail tenants have signed leases to set up shop at the Hub. Those are Georgio's Pizza and 7-Eleven, both of which had had locations where the Hub is now being built. They are expected to be open in the fall.

“We feel these retail partners will be well received, adding a level of convenience to our Hub East Lansing residents,” The Hub’s community manager Travis Hotz told ELi in a recent interview.

The 7-Eleven store has been in the process of obtaining a Special Use Permit (SUP) for its new location at The Hub so that it can sell alcohol, as it did at its previous location.

David Pierson is attorney for Core Spaces, the developer. When asked if 7-Eleven has received its new SUP, he said, “The short answer is not yet. The request for a new Special Use Permit for alcohol sales is set for a public hearing at City Council on June 18. The old 7-Eleven sold alcohol, but apparently, no one could find the special use permit for it."

One of The Hub’s most attractive features is its rooftop pool and lounge area. It will be the only rooftop pool in East Lansing when completed. Core Spaces has been advertising the rooftop space and views aggressively, as with the ad below from a city parking garage.

The Hub may look unique to area residents, but Core Spaces has built many different student-focused “Hubs on Campus” around the country, including one in Ann Arbor.

Core Spaces markets each project to the local audience, and that’s true with this one. The webpage for The Hub in East Lansing says, “being a proud Spartan doesn't mean you have to live a Spartan lifestyle!”

But do you have to be a student to live there? Technically, no.

‘Anyone who meets our qualifications is welcome to apply’

The Hub’s community manager Travis Hotz told ELi in a recent interview, “anyone that meets our qualifications is welcome to apply to live at Hub East Lansing and we are proud of the diverse group of residents that Hub East Lansing has attracted.”

The first tenants are expected to move in August 21, in time for the beginning of the fall semester.

There are three different residential configurations that are being offered, and within those configurations, there are several options to upgrade:

• The studio apartments currently start at $1,119 per month. That gets you a “Diamond 1” unit, which is 306 square feet of a basic floor plan in the middle of the building.
• For $180 more per month, the “Diamond 9 VIP” comes with 500 square feet on the top floor, with restricted-floor access. It comes with a 65-inch 4k smart TV, an in-unit sound system, and voice-activated smart-home technology.
• The two-bedroom unit options start at $2,000 per month for the “Emerald 1,” which has 565 square feet of space, two bedrooms, and one bathroom.
• Some of the two-bedroom units actually have three beds. The "Emerald 8 VIP," for example, has two bedrooms with three beds total, plus two bathrooms, and rents for $2,388 per month.
• The three-bedroom options start at $2,520 per month at about 830 square feet. The most expensive three-bedroom is currently renting for $2,740 per month, and has about 1,096 square feet of space.

“While slight price adjustments were made on a select number of units, nearly all rents have stayed the same,” Hotz said.

The Hub on Campus also offers roommate matching for those looking to share an apartment.

The Hub was approved unanimously by the City Council in December 2017 after the Planning Commission failed to pass a recommendation for the project, with a 3-3 split. Concerns about the project included too few parking spaces for residents and the building’s overall height being dramatically taller than the surrounding properties.

But City Council liked that the project would generate hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in taxes as soon as it was open, and that it provided student housing near campus and well away from neighborhoods with a majority of single-family housing.

ELi has reported that Core Spaces is looking to do another Hub project just south of this one, possibly with towers bookending the Farmhouse Fraternity.

Note: We've corrected this article to clarify the total monthly cost per unit for the various apartments described. (The previous version included some unit pricing that was per person per month.)