Market Place under way

Thursday, Sept. 19 — Construction on developer Pat Gillespie’s prominent Market Place project started Monday following years of delays caused by the housing market and recent pressure from the city to get moving.

Construction equipment was onsite Tuesday, moving dirt in preparation for a five-story, 80-unit apartment structure immediately northeast of the City Market, Gillespie said today.

He declined to specify a final price tag.

After construction on the project stalled due to the down housing market, the city put pressure on Gillespie in May with a timeline for completion. Some of the earliest estimates for construction to start was for fall 2009.

Once the environmental cleanup was finished, construction had to start within 45 days, according to the agreement with the city. Gillespie now has 17 months for “substantial completion” of the building, “with an additional six months if necessary due to unforeseen circumstances that could arise in the course of construction,” the agreement says.

Gillespie said the project, which has been scaled back from previous designs, should be done this time next year.

The Market Place property sits along Cedar Street between the Lansing Center and Shiawassee Street. The old City Market was demolished for to make way for the project.