Downtown Lansing’s retail revival may be picking up steam, as new businesses move into long-vacant storefronts and a major development reshapes the city’s core.
At the start of 2025, downtown’s retail vacancy rate stood at about 25%, according to Downtown Lansing Inc. By midyear, that number had dropped to roughly 18%, based on data from Martin Commercial Properties.
One of the newest additions is Craig Ryan Fine Clothing, a Michigan-based men’s clothier set to open its fifth location Tuesday in the Atrium Building on Washington Square.
The opening comes more than a year after the closure of longtime staple Kositchek’s Menswear.
Julian Delos Reyes, company president and a Williamston native, said the new store marks an exciting return to the Lansing area.
“We are excited to join the Lansing community and really just become a bridge to the future with the revitalization of downtown with the new developments that are happening,” Delos Reyes said.
Craig Ryan’s new storefront will sit adjacent to one of the city’s most ambitious projects to date — a 28-story tower rising across Grand Avenue. The high-rise is part of the $315 million New Vision Lansing initiative, a five-building project designed to reshape downtown’s skyline and attract residents and visitors alike.
“Seeing how far it’s come up until now, and then seeing plans of where it’s going to be in a few short years from now is really exciting,” said Delos Reyes.
Craig Ryan began in Grand Blanc more than 20 years ago. The Lansing location will be the retailer’s fifth, joining stores in Harbor Springs, Petoskey and Birmingham.
