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Steve Myers
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As welding equipment hummed within the steel skeleton of the formerly derelict Hughes & Hatcher building, passer-by Derek Leigh ruminated on the nightclub or restaurant that might eventually occupy the ground floor of the four-story building.
"That's what's missing - entertainment," said Leigh, 40, of Flint. "It'll be nice to see something come back."
Comeback is the operative word behind a groundswell of efforts to snap downtown Flint - especially a key stretch of S. Saginaw Street - out of its decades-long funk. Such a center city transformation, boosters say, would be a boon to the entire county, making the entire region more attractive for investment and population growth.
"We're not there yet, but we're on our way: I think the term is 'poised for growth,' " said William Webb, the pointman for planned student housing at the University of Michigan-Flint, during a recent forum about the developments.
Loft apartments, a brew pub, a Brazilian steak house, a grocery store and more are in the works or on the drawing board. Developers hope to woo a big engineering firm, a defense contractor and a construction company.
At the former Hughes & Hatcher, where the most visible project is under way, the building stands stripped to the I-beams in preparation for a makeover that will bring lofts and Genesee County Land Bank offices to the upper floors.
With time, the new crop of boosters and business owners hopes to transform downtown from a place that tends to close up at nights and on weekends into an entertainment destination - a revitalized community catering to urban professionals and college students.
A downtown renaissance? Haven't we been down this path before?
"Where the (UM-Flint) White Building sits now was this building called AutoWorld, and, God, I don't want to make that mistake again," said Tim Herman, president of Uptown Reinvestment Inc., a key downtown developer.
The ill-fated theme park closed in 1985, six months after opening, and became a symbol of the city's failure at downtown redevelopment.
Asked about having a new big draw downtown during a recent forum, Herman said the key this time is to slowly rebuild public confidence after decades of one failed, large-scale project after another. He also noted that, unlike with some past projects, several area developers now are investing their own money.
"Let's build success one building at a time right now so the community starts to feel good about ourselves.
"We're our worst own enemy. All of us, we talk about ourselves. We say we can't succeed. " It's a challenge, but we all have to come together."
Indeed, skeptics abound, questioning coordination, crime - and whether suburbanites who gave up on downtown long ago will ever return.
"I'd go downtown to shop," said John Armstrong, 64, of Flint Township - but his willingness is theoretical. "Right now, there's no reason to. You couldn't make a McDonald's work down there."
A McDonald's in a brand-new building at King Avenue and N. Saginaw Street closed in 2003 after seven years in business.
Plans aplentyToday, even that failed fast-food joint is part of the turnaround effort. Mega Coney Island will open soon in the former McDonald's building, just north of the Flint River.
Here's a quick breakdown of some other key projects and initiatives:
Loft apartments in the Republic Bank building at W. First and S. Saginaw Streets (next to Hughes & Hatcher). Developers are taking deposits and hope to start leases in 2006. Estimated cost: $6.2 million.
The Brown Sugar Cafe, boasting smoothies and wireless Internet. It expects to open in April five doors north of Republic in the former Economy Building, 432 S. Saginaw St. A local construction company and research tech firm also plan to open office space. Estimated cost: $400,000.
Pages Bookstore, 649 S. Saginaw. It opened in December in the former Wonderland Travel Building.
A brew pub, restaurant, nightclub, loft apartments and offices in what is known as the "500 block." The developers have been negotiating with a company that is considering moving downtown with about 100 employees. The project would combine the former Carlton and PSI buildings, at 532 and 542 S. Saginaw, with the Jewelry World building between them. Developers hope to finish in 2006.
Restoring two-way traffic - starting this year, Mayor Don Williamson says - on some one-way streets that bring frustration and complaints.
The brick surface of S. Saginaw Street has been repaired and a streetscape installed boasting new sidewalks, benches and trees. At the same time, new arches that resemble ones from a century ago were installed.
Money for the various current and upcoming projects will come from a mixture of developers, grants, loans and tax dollars.
Williamson, who isn't shy about criticizing plans he doesn't like, favors the developments, highlighting them during his recent annual State of the City address while promising to back a new parking deck.
"We will work with private developers to bring life back to downtown " to make it a busy, fun and safe place for people to live and visit " with new restaurants, apartments and businesses " making it one of the governor's attractive cool cities," he said.
Hopeful skepticsBut while many are encouraged by the progress and talk of more to come, Heidi Peterson, president of the nearby Grand Traverse District Neighborhood Association, said efforts would be enhanced if developers could coordinate opening the businesses at the same time.
"I do think it's excellent what they are doing, and somebody does need to take the initiative, but now there's an expectation that they have to deliver an end product," Peterson said.
And there's even a greater skepticism from the suburbs, where people say they hope for progress but don't expect it.
Jennifer Pedley, 21, of Davison is a new mom who graduated from the UM-Flint's nursing program in 2004.
"It just doesn't seem some place I would to hang out at 8 on a Friday night," she said. "It's not family-oriented, downtown Flint."
Still, Sue Purdy, 56, of Grand Blanc said developers are on the right track by going after the younger college crowd, especially as UM-Flint plans student housing in the area.
"That's what's going to work," Purdy said. "They have to get the student housing going. Just look at Ann Arbor. Isn't it so much fun to go to Ann Arbor?"
What's on deckMore plans that are simmering include talk of a grocery store and other retailers, though officials say it's too soon to expect much retail action.
"There's a pent-up demand for entertainment," said Scott Whipple, project manager for Uptown Developments. "I think we could support as many (venues) as Royal Oak. " We've got a much bigger service area than people give us credit for."
Uptown's plate for the future includes:
Restoring the facade and attracting a new club for the space last occupied by the Metropolis night club, at 510 S. Saginaw St.
Possibly combining the former Baker Drugs building with the former Dale's Foods for Health at W. First and S. Saginaw to create space for a restaurant.
A concept for the former Classic Tailor building, 641 S. Saginaw, that shows a restaurant on the street level and a bar on the lower level.
Restoring the former Roberts David Alan building, 420 S. Saginaw, with an older-style facade, commercial use on the first floor, offices on the second floor and offices or lofts on the top floor.
Other entrepreneurs are active, too.
Alfred Kloss, an Uptown partner, is looking for tenants for the old Genesee Bank building at W. Kearsley and S. Saginaw streets and the Ferris Bros. building, next to the Dryden building at E. Second and S. Saginaw.
Joel Rash, who owns two buildings on S. Saginaw in the same block as the Dryden, has applied to the Downtown Facade Improvement Program for grants to renovate the front of buildings at 625 and 629 S. Saginaw, home to Flint City T-Shirts and the Uncommon Sense newspaper.
Rash said he has been contacted by people interested in retail businesses such as resale shops, a vintage clothing store and restaurants.
Footing the billOther big questions revolve around funding.
The estimated cost of rebuilding the former Hughes & Hatcher building, scheduled for completion in October, is $3.8 million, with $2.1 million in county bonds, plus grants from MSHDA, HUD, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, a brownfield tax credit and money from the Land Bank.
The financing plan for all the Uptown projects is to use developer money, three tax-credit programs, plus so-called Section 108 loans through HUD and the city of Flint, Brownfield Economic Development Initiative grants and private foundation grants.
"I don't know where in the hell I'm going to get all the money, but I'm going to keep asking," Herman said. "We've got a lot of good people working with us and partnering with us."
The 108 loans have been the subject of some controversy, with the city foreclosing on two of its current loans, including one downtown: luxury condo project Manhattan Place, along the Flint River.
But Williamson said he'd be willing to listen to proposals as long as developers got a letter of guarantee from their banks, ensuring that the city would be repaid.
"I'm not going to stick the taxpayer's neck in a noose for nobody," Williamson said.
With such a financing mixture, some worry about delays that could jeopardize the projects. Seventh Ward Councilman Matt Schlinker said government needs to lead, calling past efforts full of "dysfunction."
"It never seems fast enough," said Schlinker, who represents part of the downtown area. "You have to create the environment, the atmosphere and the infrastructure to attract small business."
Schlinker said the ongoing battles between the council and Williamson discourage investment. He suggested forming a roundtable of the mayor, council members and business leaders.
"It doesn't look like we're all working together," he said. "Right now, everybody ought to get together and pursue a common goal of improving downtown."
From the developers' standpoint, Whipple said projects take time because developers need to have signed leases from commercial tenants before they can complete papers for financing. And some of the paperwork can take time; he said it took more than a year to get a historic designation for the Republic building.
Some are willing to wait. Kathryn Schellenberg, an associate professor of sociology at UM-Flint who already lives downtown, has put a deposit on a loft apartment in the Republic Bank building. Her apartment will be on the top floor, with views out the north, east and south sides.
"I like the idea of turning empty buildings into livable, usable space," she said.
Developers hope to attract people like Schellenberg: urban professionals who like living in the central city.
"I think it will be very interesting to be downtown and watch its transformation," Schellenberg said. "(The project) looks cool - it's downtown. I love living downtown."
Full Story:
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-27/111011880180030.xml |
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Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:19 am |
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Just Visiting 4 now
Guest
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quote:
A downtown renaissance? Haven't we been down this path before?
"Where the (UM-Flint) White Building sits now was this building called
AutoWorld
, and, God, I don't want to make that mistake again," said Tim Herman, president of Uptown Reinvestment Inc., a key downtown developer.
The
ill-fated theme park closed in 1985
, six months after opening, and became a symbol of the city's failure at downtown redevelopment.
4 more on
<sic>
http://toysaregoodfood.com/content/archives/000008.html
includes a Forum of reader comment. |
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Fri Mar 25, 2005 1:33 pm |
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jdoherty
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None of this will work until the outdated idea that people must pay to park in downtown Flint is eliminated. All the attactions in the world won't help if people don't have a safe place to park. That said, rebuilding downtown is an idea whose time has come. The potential is there, but I'm not going to pay to park!  |
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Wed Apr 06, 2005 11:45 am |
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Cornbread
F L I N T O I D
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Thanks for the updates.
Just found this site - hope to visit more often. |
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Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:37 pm |
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Guest
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| I think you still have to pay for parking in most downtowns. You can find free parking if you don't mind walking. |
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Fri Apr 15, 2005 8:02 pm |
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Gumby
F L I N T O I D
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What is it 50 cents an hour to park in the flat lot next to the pavilion? Plus it is free after 6 pm. Yeah that will really break you. Free parking will not bring throngs of people back to downtown. People will gladly pay to park if there is a good reason to be there. With all the new businesses opening up downtown we will start to see a lot more activity down there. Just a side note look for that ugly white tile building next to Feris furs to start having some construction going on it sometime in the near future. A source tells me that the owner has secured a resturaunt tenent for the first floor. Removal of the tile is part of the project, I can't wait.  |
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Thu Apr 28, 2005 12:36 am |
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