East Lansing Land Sale Proposal and Local Millages Pass Overwhelmingly

Above: Rendering of the MSUFCU project for the land on the ballot.

A vote to authorize a downtown land sale and all of the tax millages before East Lansing voters appeared to be pass overwhelmingly in Tuesday’s election, each by roughly a two-to-one vote or more, as of just before midnight Tuesday night.

The sale of a 13,000-square foot plot of public land (including a downtown parking lot and part of what was Albert Avenue) is intended to enable construction of a new office tower by Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU), if the local financial institution and the City Council agree to the terms later this year.

Ballots came in slowly as same-day registrations created a huge line at the East Lansing Clerk’s office at City Hall.

Voters were asked to approve millages for the Ingham County trail system, the Ingham County Health Department, the Potter Park Zoo, the Capital Area Transportation Authority, special education provided through the Ingham Intermediate School District, and a new 911 system for Clinton County.

The millages were piled onto the ballot for a presidential primary election, which featured a competitive Democratic nomination contest between former Vice President Joseph Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. The statewide primary race was called for Biden early in the evening.

Note: This report was first published at 10:30 p.m. on March 10 and was subsequently updated.