Harbor Bay Secures Financing for Student Housing Tower
The 707-bed project will be Michigan’s tallest mass timber residential building.
Harbor Bay Ventures has secured senior financing and institutional equity for what will be Michigan’s tallest mass timber residential building. The funds will back the construction of The Howard, a 707-bed student housing project already underway in East Lansing, Mich.
Harbor Bay is developing the community in partnership with the Ballein family, which also teamed with the firm on two other projects in the city, namely Landmark on Grand River and Newman Lofts.
TSB Capital Advisors arranged the funding on behalf of the developer. Busey Bank and First National Bank of Omaha co-led the senior financing, with MSU Federal Credit Union and Horizon Bank also participating. The transaction marks Harbor Bay’s first institutional equity raise.
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DLR Group is providing architecture and interior design services, while Thomarios is the general contractor. Forefront Structural Engineers, SmartLam North America and Baker Concrete are also part of the development team.
Michigan’s tallest mass timber residential building
Construction kicked off in late August, following the East Lansing City Council’s approval of the project in July. Completion is scheduled for 2028.
The 12-story property is rising at 401 E. Grand River Ave., on the site of the now-demolished Student Book Store, owned by the Ballein family. The community will be directly across from Michigan State University and along a CATA transit line. Downtown Lansing is 5 miles away.
The Howard will feature nine stories of mass timber construction above a three-story concrete podium. Plans call for approximately 8,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, as well as a library, a fitness center, yoga studios and dedicated study areas. The development has been pre-approved for LEED Gold certification.
MSU supports student housing demand
The Howard is moving forward alongside a sizable student population at Michigan State University. The institution enrolled 50,941 students in fall 2026, including more than 40,800 undergraduates, providing a broad demand base for off-campus student housing in East Lansing.
As of September, Yardi Matrix tracked 13,626 completed student housing beds serving Michigan State. Preleasing stood at 94.9 percent, down 190 basis points year-over-year. Despite the decline, average rent per bed increased 3.2 percent from a year earlier to $872, indicating continued pricing growth even as leasing momentum softened.
