(East Lansing, Mich., Sept. 22, 2026) – DLR Group, a global integrated design firm, is providing architecture and interior design services for The Howard, a 12-story student housing development at 401 E. Grand River Ave. that will become the tallest mass timber residential building in Michigan upon completion in 2028. The 748-bed project, developed by Harbor Bay Ventures directly across from Michigan State University, continues DLR Group’s growing mass timber portfolio with Harbor Bay, following the firm’s work on INTRO Columbus, which topped out this month as the tallest mass timber student housing building in the U.S.

The Howard takes its name from Howard Ballein, who founded the Student Book Store on this site in 1960; his family remains involved in the project as a development partner. Harbor Bay is also opening the site to Michigan State students through Project Classroom, giving students in the university’s mass timber specialty access to site tours, progress meetings, and guest lectures throughout construction.

“This building carries Howard Ballein’s name, and we wanted the design to carry that same sense of respect, for him and for the block he spent 66 years on,” said DLR Group Principal and Design Leader Nathan Casteel, AIA. “That meant creating something that fits thoughtfully into downtown East Lansing’s context while still being unmistakably contemporary, and bringing mass timber down to the ground floor, where the public can see and touch it.”

The Howard sits directly across Grand River Avenue from Michigan State University and will include roughly 8,000 SF of grade-level retail. Designed as a transit-oriented development, it puts residents directly across the street from campus and along a CATA transit line.

The Howard will be built with mass timber, using CLT panels manufactured by SmartLam North America at its plant in Dothan, Alabama, paired with cold-formed steel stud bearing walls. A domestic supply chain shortens lead times and keeps the value of the structure in American forestry and manufacturing jobs. The Howard will also be LEED certified.

“Michigan only recently adopted the code provisions that make a building like this possible, so this is the state’s first attempt at mass timber residential construction at this height,” said DLR Group Senior Associate and Project Architect Cameron Jacobson, AIA. “That gave us a real opportunity to shape what that looks like, and we kept the timber exposed throughout the building wherever we could.”

DLR Group is providing architecture and interior design services on the project for developer and owner Harbor Bay Ventures, a Chicago-based real estate development and investment firm. Additional project partners include Thomarios, general contractor; Forefront Structural Engineers, of Chicago; SmartLam North America, mass timber manufacturer; and Baker Concrete, concrete structure and foundations.