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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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INITIATIVES FOR UPTOWN: FLINT UPTOWN REINVESTMENT …
media.wix.com/ugd/04b111_789a2696782b3b544e491f73e69a8a42.pdf · PDF file
Initiatives for Uptown: Flint Uptown Reinvestment Strategy 1 1. GOAL The goal of the Flint Uptown Reinvestment Strategy is to redefine Flint’s central business ...
This strategy was created in 2003 by a grant from the Mott Foundation. Much of this plan has already been implemented. The questions are:
* This plan is focused on attracting specific residents to downtown. Will they succeed?
* With the move to change the tax structure, will the elimination of tax credits slow or stop future development? |
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Fri Dec 27, 2013 7:43 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Ridgway H. White
Vice President of Special Projects, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Ridgway White is Vice President of Special Projects at the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. His work focuses on urban planning and revitalization in the Flint, Michigan and metro region as well as assisting the executive office in various capacities. Ridgway joined the Foundation in 2004 as a program assistant on the Flint Area grantmaking team, was named an associate program officer in 2006, and promoted to program officer in 2009. In that capacity, he also served as a loaned executive to the nonprofit Uptown Reinvestment Corporation (URC), where he coordinated a redevelopment strategy designed to revitalize downtown Flint, the Foundation’s home community. |
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Fri Dec 27, 2013 7:46 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Will the Revitalization of Downtown Flint be a Success?
michiganpolicy.com/...the-revitalization-of-downtown-flint-be-a...
... Flint plans to focus its development on entertainment, ... For more information about the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation project in Flint check out their website
Will the Revitalization of Downtown Flint be a Success?
Wednesday, 15 October 2008 18:45
Although it was named the third most dangerous city in the nation by a private research group's analysis of FBI crime statistics in 2007, Flint has been attempting to make a change. Under the leadership of the nonprofit organization, Uptown Reinvestment Corporation (URI), Flint plans to focus its development on entertainment, retail and student housing.
With the recent development of the First Street Residence Hall by the University of Michigan-Flint, an addition of about 300 students has been made to the city. Also, the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation plans to create modern loft style housing to attract more students to the area. With an increasing amount of students living in the area, the hope of URI is that the entertainment and retail industries will have a substantial market to grow and develop in. This week the URI, partnered with Blackstone LLC, announced that one new addition to Flint will be the Blackstone Pub & Grill.
URI has already acquired seven run down or abandon buildings, which it plans to use in its development process. Obviously developing these old and abandoned building appears that it will help the city. Also, the addition of new stores and restaurants should help bring jobs to the people of Flint. The Blackstone Pub & Grill, alone, plans to create 40-60 new jobs for the area.
The question remains though, will it be enough. With Flint being ranked as the second poorest city in the country (according to Bizjournals is August 2008), and these developments coming at a time of economic struggle, will the URI be able to achieve the goals that it has for the city? Will the businesses be able to flourish while the unemployment rate in Michigan is so high? Hopefully these developments will be enough to help push the city economic success…but I guess only time will tell.
For more information about the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation project in Flint check out their website
Sources:
"New Blackstone's restaurant heading to downtown Flint; latest of string of projects to revitalize area, cater to students" Flint Journal.
"Motor City Named Nation's Most Dangerous" Washington Post
Uptown Reinvestment Corporation
"Where the money is: America's wealth centers" Bizjournals. |
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Fri Dec 27, 2013 7:49 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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| Has there been enough change in the last five years to prove the plan financed by the Mott Foundation actually works? This article says the lofts were developed for students and that means rentals. Flint had a HUD finding because the Berridge Hotel lofts were supposed to be sold and not leased. Have any downtown lofts been sold? |
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Fri Dec 27, 2013 7:54 am |
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Adam
F L I N T O I D
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Tue Dec 31, 2013 1:39 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint Balances Books at Cost of Services Citizens Need - Bloomberg http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-27/flint-balances-books-at-cost-of-services-citizens-need.html - 78k - Cached - Similar pages Mar 27, 2013 ... Kurtz asked in an interview in his office at Flint City Hall. ... of democratic rights
Flint Balances Books at Cost of Services Citizens Need
By Mark Niquette Mar 26, 2013 8:00 PM ET
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Edward Kurtz, emergency manager of Flint, Michigan, talks with Bloomberg's Mark Niquette about the city's performance under the state's emergency-manager law and the outlook for the community's viability. Flint is among six Michigan cities that have state-appointed fiscal managers with ultimate authority to operate and restructure them, sell assets and alter union contracts. (Source: Bloomberg)
After firing 20 percent of its workers, doubling water rates and outsourcing trash collection, Flint (8985MF), Michigan, has a balanced budget. It’s also approaching the point at which it can’t function as a city.
That’s the assessment of Edward Kurtz, its emergency manager. Without reliable revenue to replace dwindling property and income taxes and state funding, the birthplace of General Motors Co. (GM) won’t be able to support its citizens, even if its books are square, Kurtz said.
As state-appointed overseer Kevyn Orr takes control of near-bankrupt Detroit (9845MF), the experience of Flint shows spending can be made to match revenue. Yet merely making the numbers work may not be enough in cities where population and revenue shriveled with the closing of auto plants.
“How many more employees can we lay off and still provide the basic services?” Kurtz asked in an interview in his office at Flint City Hall. “We can’t just keep putting it on the backs of the people who live in the city. Pretty soon, we won’t have anybody left to tax.”
Kurtz said he doesn’t think Flint, whose population has dropped by almost half to 101,558 since 1960, has reached that point. During the 16 months the city has been under an emergency manager -- its second stint -- work has been done to stabilize finances and restructure operations, even as residents complain about the loss of democratic rights and the city is completing its first master plan since the 1960s.
Still, Kurtz wrote in a Feb. 8 report to state Treasurer Andy Dillon that Flint “is approaching the point of diminishing returns” and that “stable revenue is necessary in order for this city, and most other cities in Michigan, to continue to avoid a bankruptcy situation.”
Flint is 68 miles (109 kilometers) northwest of Detroit. Buick Motor Co. moved there in 1903, GM was founded there in 1908 and it prospered until the auto industry started to decline in the 1970s. Today, hundreds of acres of bare concrete remain where plants once stood, and neighborhoods are scarred by vacant and boarded-up homes. Almost a quarter of the housing units are vacant, according to the U.S. Census.
For those who remain, life is dangerous. Flint had the highest rate of violent crime in 2011 among U.S. cities with 100,000 or more residents, and Detroit was second, according to the FBI.
Gunfire Lullaby
Flint officers are doing their best with staffing that has declined by more than 50 percent since 2008 as pay and benefit cuts destroyed morale, said Officer Kevin Smith, 37, president of the Flint Police Officers Association.
Some residents say otherwise. Police are “about as useless as a rubber crutch,” said Ben Cain, who leads a Neighborhood Restoration Coalition of block watch groups. He said he’s so used to going to bed with gunfire that he doesn’t pay much attention to it anymore.
Emergency managers can’t fix such deep-rooted dysfunction without changing state and federal policies for funding cities, said U.S. Representative Dan Kildee, a Flint native who co- founded the Center for Community Progress, a Washington-based advocate for land reuse and urban revitalization.
“If we don’t have the will to do those things, then all the strong managers in the world will not pull America’s weakest cities out of their decline,” said Kildee, 54, a first-term Democrat.
Flint is among six Michigan cities that have emergency managers, including Detroit, where Republican Governor Rick Snyder named Orr on March 14. While elected mayors and councils remain, the fiscal overseers have ultimate authority to operate and restructure, sell assets and alter union contracts.
Called Back
This is Flint’s second time around.
Kurtz, a 70-year-old former president of the Baker College system, which is based there, was appointed in 2002 when the city had a $35 million deficit. It had a balanced budget when he left in 2004, yet started running deficits again three years later. Snyder named a new manager in November 2011, and when he couldn’t continue, Kurtz came out of retirement in August.
Kurtz has waived his salary and is being paid only $1,000 a month for expenses, according to the city. The salary would be $170,000 a year, funded by the state under a law taking effect March 28.
Almost 47 percent of Flint’s $94.3 million in revenue in fiscal 2012 came from state and federal sources. While the city still has deficits of $19 million in its general fund and $8.8 million in its water fund, its 2013 budget balanced without deficit spending, and revenue and expenses are generally on target, Kurtz said.
Private Prop
Besides eliminating almost 150 positions, Flint’s managers cut workers’ wages by 20 percent, eliminated retiree health coverage and restructured benefits and pensions. They added a $143 annual fee for trash collection, a $62 special assessment for street lights and increased water and sewer rates.
It’s not enough. Michigan State Police provide patrol officers and detectives, and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has given $3.84 million since 2010 for 11 community police officers and neighborhood safety volunteer programs.
It’s a “bridge strategy,” said Neal Hegarty, vice president of programs for the Flint grant-making foundation, which is Michigan’s third-largest and works to better civil society and the environment, and to eradicate poverty.
“The situation was simply untenable, and it needed some relief,” Hegarty said by phone. “There’s just simply not enough money in the system.”
Fleeing Flint
Property taxes declined 44.6 percent between fiscal 2006 and 2012, state funding is down by 32.9 percent and income taxes by 24.5 percent, according to city reports. Property taxes could fall another 18 percent in fiscal 2014, Kurtz said.
“We used to say we need to do more for less,” he said. “Pretty soon we’re going to be doing less for less.”
Cain, who leads the neighborhood group, said residents are being driven out.
“If you keep on cutting the legs off this table, eventually you’re going to be on the floor,” the 65-year-old retired GM worker said in an interview at a police mini-station encircled by barbed-wire fence. “When you kick the dog around long enough, he’s going to leave.”
Hunting Work
While more than 80,000 area residents were employed by GM in 1978, according to a 2011 report by Michigan State University, that number is about 7,500 today, the company said. GM is the city’s largest employer, followed by the Flint City School District and McLaren Regional Medical Center, according to the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Flint’s median household income is $26,621, compared with $48,669 for the state, according to U.S. Census data. The unemployment rate was 17.2 percent in January not adjusted for seasonal changes, compared with an unadjusted 9.7 percent statewide.
The distress is reflected in municipal finances. There are no current bond ratings for Flint, according to its 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Moody’s Investors Service last rated its general-obligation unlimited bonds at noninvestment-grade Ba1 in February 2006, the report said. The long-term debt on June 30 was $62.8 million, it said.
Old promises weigh on the city and others like it. Michigan municipalities had unfunded liabilities for pension and other post-retirement benefits of $12.7 billion in fiscal 2011, Eric Scorsone, a Michigan State University economist, said in a March 14 report. That limits resources for services and can put cities into a “death spiral,” he said.
Bob Emerson, a former state budget director who served on the review team that recommended an emergency manager for Flint in 2011, said that while the city avoided bankruptcy, it faces a difficult future.
“Does anybody want to live there with service levels that are adjusted to the revenue levels?” Emerson said in a telephone interview. “Without sufficient revenue, it doesn’t matter who’s in charge.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Niquette in Flint at mniquette@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Merelman at smerelman@bloomberg.net |
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Thu Jan 02, 2014 7:04 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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megan.hunter71
• 9 months ago
You are wrong. Flint is a good example of what happens in a one company town. When the plant closes everything falls apart. The city once had 80,000 GM workers. By the way, I just moved to Flint from another state and I have never met harder working people. It is the people who volunteer hours after work to clean parks and mow vacant lots that are holding Flint together. Before you make such judgemental statements, visit the city and talk to people first!
Avatar
9 months ago
Flint should be a clear warning to the rest of America. This is what happens when the vast majority of a city's residents become welfare dependent. Individuals deriving their income from welfare programs do not pay taxes and the city collapses economically as politicians buy votes by promising new goodies to be paid with dwindling revenues. Remaining taxpayers, mostly retail businesses, see their taxes and fees skyrocket far beyond what their suburban competitors pay and they eventually move or go out of business. This is the true nature of Flint and Detroit's 'death spiral', and also the reason why both Flint and Ecorse are on their second emergency managers.
David2020
• 9 months ago
Flint, Detroit, Ecorse, Pontiac, and the other Michigan economic basket cases have each been run by very liberal, antibusiness administrations for more than 50 years. No 'conservative economic dogma' has seen the light of day in these cities since the 1950's.
JosephB77 > David2020
• 9 months ago
1-I like all the examples you provided. Oh, wait, there were none.
2-This has nothing to do with the fact that GM employs 72,500 less people than it used to?
yahoo-XWY3OBLF2WLPQ7BVEEMY43JWK4
• 9 months ago
Whether it is a city or a country, they should have limited borrowing power once they show their operating budget out of balance for 2 years. By then it is clear that they are poor managers of tax income and should not be allowed to borrow from future incomes until they are back in surplus.This should extend to the personnel benefits being required to be funded every year or cut to what can be funded.
When they are allowed to borrow, spending is not controlled and the debt burden climbs to an unbearable level.
Common sense is not very common these days, but it should be clear to all by now, you can not spend what you do not have.
skiph1
• 9 months ago
This is what happens when we treat our government like they should be run like Walmart.
There is a limit to basic services provided and consolidation.
Same way in business. They cut right up until the executives feel the pain.
Walmart is currently realizing they cut the flaps too much. Coming out of this dive is gonna cost Big money.
Crazyv
• 9 months ago
Since when did a city surviving into perpetuity become the norm? History replete with examples of cities that ceased to exist- trade routes changed, rivers changed their course and the climate changed. Perhaps rather fighting the tide we should be working on developing plans for the orderly shut down of cities and towns that no longer have a future.
There is simply no possibility that both Flint and Detroit can both attract enough jobs to keep them both alive. Perhaps it makes sense to just consolidate Flint and other towns and cities in Michigan into Detroit. Take vacant land in Detroit and allow folks in Flint to swap it for their properties in Flint.
megan.hunter71 > Crazyv
• 9 months ago
Please know what exists in Detroit and Flint before making comments about shutting down. Flint has more employees than any other community in its region. It is home to one of the fastest growing businesses in the nation, two universities and a community college (approx. 30,000 students), and two of the largest medical facilities in the state. There is even a well known Art Museum and a nationally recognized farmer's market. Times are tough, but many communities have rebounded from de-industrialization like Pittsburgh.
JosephB77 > Crazyv
• 9 months ago
Yup. At the end of the day, you can only live where you have access to jobs. There is no practical alternative. You can't have 100,000 people living in an area supported by GM employing 7,500 of them, even assuming that all 7,500 come from Flint.
You probably need state aid to make a 'practical' Flint a reality. Maybe it can support a population of 20-25k. If so, you kind of have to bulldoze 75% of the area. It sounds mean, but pretending you can have a city of 100k without property tax and other local sources of revenue is not going to help and not going to happen.
buck > Crazyv
• 9 months ago
The sad fact is we are expending a vast amount of resources and effort, money, people, time, in a vain attempt to sustain the unsustainable. People would be better served by planning an orderly dismantling of the 21st century 'ghost towns'. Priority should be given to looking after the safety and security of the remaining citizens by 'settling' them elsewhere while turning the land into farmland or some other value added use, or even back to forest if the circumstances are warranted. |
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Thu Jan 02, 2014 7:26 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:04 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The author is Alan Malloch, a well respected expert on shrinking industrial cities and their redevelopment.
Flint is a city with a low demand for housing and thus we have low housing prices. Molloch discusses how cities like Flint and other aging industrial cities need to plan their economic future using the concepts of their population loss and land redundancy as a long term reality instead of a short term trend. Cities such as Detroit, notes Malloch, will never be able to regain their lost populations within a time frame useful for future planning. He also notes that in similar cities the excessive amounts of vacant land and buildings "far exceeds the potential demand for new houses, stores or industrial parks." For these cities, he says, they must recognize they will remain smaller and begin thinking about their economic future in those terms. "They can no longer think of land and buildings solely in terms of redevelopment and rebuilding." |
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Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:19 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The media has never reported on the office and commercial vacancies in downtown Flint. I have noticed the failures and closures of a number of small businesses throughout Flint.
Malloch notes how former industrial cities have a smaller corporate presence and fewer major financial and other institutions. His observation about having a smaller professional class because the majority fled for the suburbs a long time ago is correct.
Flint's educational, health and cultural institutions are predominately local or regional as predicted by Molloch. The only exception might be Kettering University, although Michigan has several outstanding engineering programs throughout the state. Molloch is spot on when he comments how the talent pool for political and civic leaders is modest at best.
According to Molloch, the smaller cities have problems with having the population mass needed to implement important redevelopment strategies. The example he gives really sounds like Flint.
Remember the move to loft apartments initiated by former Treasurer and Land Bank Executive Dan Kildee as well as the Flint and Genesee County Chamber of Commerce? They have done their best to encourage the necessary pool of young adults and empty nesters that have sufficient resources to make a demand for loft living. The goal was to encourage the purchase of these lofts, but they were unable to generate enough of a pool to sell the lofts. Flint was cited by HUD in the Land Bank driven renovation of the Berridge when they rented the units hey told HUD they would sell. Molloch specifically mentions Flint when he discusses the lack of an adequate pool of those with the income needed for these redevelopment goals. |
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Fri Jan 03, 2014 6:23 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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As I look at Molloch's discussion on the varying strength of neighborhoods, I am at a loss to recognize a single neighborhood where the market value is strong enough to have sale prices above replacement costs. There are areas where the population is shrinking slower than other parts of the city. Even the College Cultural area and Woodcroft Estates have had homes on the market for an extended period of time. The large jewelry thefts in Woodcroft during the last two months will have an impact on those home sales.
"In Flint or Dayton, however, houses in even the strongest neighborhoods sell well below replacement costs. Any increase in the number of vacant or foreclosed properties can put those areas at risk of destabilization." I agree with Molloch on this point as I see newly abandoned homes and businesses as I drive through my neighborhoods.
Flint has spent large sums of money marketing Smith Village. But even at bargain basement sales prices, the efforts have been slow. Other efforts, such as those by the Land Bank and Salem has resulted in homes renovated at great cost that can't be sold. Pontiac Street has one that has been on the market for over two years. HUD cited these agencies for making rentals out of properties that were to be sold or at least "rent-to-own".
Molloch points out that there are parts of the city where home buying is at such a level of decline that the housing market has ceased to exist. He refers to these areas as "non market areas". There are other areas that fall in between and that they retain some market value, but not enough to remain vital. There must be some intervention, according to Molloch, and he refers to the local government, a community development group (CDC) or a neighborhood group as mechanisms for that intervention.
Emergency Managers have eliminated the state defined CDC groups. Flint is still embroiled in a lawsuit with Operation Unification who reuses to honor their NSP contracts for the renovation of homes in the area off North Dupont. I am told that one of the Saturday morning shows on WFLT read the allegations of Young against The officials of Flint alleging corruption. The corruption in Flint needs to be addressed. So far the best intervention has come through Habitat for Humanity.
Molloch made the observation that each city has 2 areas. There is an "economic city where most of the economic activity takes place" . he second is the "political city " which is defined by the political and physical boundaries of the city. In Flint, the smaller "economic city" is the downtown area.
I attended a meeting in Flint where Molloch was one of the guest speakers. Mott Foundation financed most of the event put on by Metro Development and the Flint Genesee Chamber of Commerce. The emphasis was on creating a master Plan. |
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Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:02 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Uptown Drives Downtown Flint - My City Magazine
Jul 1, 2013 ... The men of Uptown are a heartbeat away from those in Flint, because they ... Phil Shaltz of Shaltz Automation lives a very open life Downtown.
mycitymag.com/uptown-drives-downtown-flint/
My Downtown
Uptown Drives Downtown Flint
Myron Manns July 1, 2013
Uptown
Many of us have enjoyed the recent business additions to Downtown Flint, an area almost completely devoid of life in the late 1990s that now teems with new ventures; but few of us know the men behind many of these projects, and even fewer know of their desire to see a better Flint. The men of Uptown are a heartbeat away from those in Flint, because they too are from Flint.
“Uptown” is a hot-button word around Flint, and there are assumptions and assertions both in favor of and in opposition to the group, but what you might find most is ignorance. That is, many people simply have no idea who or what Uptown Developments is. Bottom line: at a time when no one else was investing in Flint, these individuals dared to dream, and they defied the odds.
Here’s the skinny:
At the dawn of the 21st century, seven men assembled of their own accord with no agenda other than a desire to see a revitalized Flint. What became known as the Uptown Six—yes, that’s Uptown Six with seven members—was the collaborative effort of seven local businessmen to bring life back into the heart of the city. They invested equal amounts, and later invested again, and then again. Years later, the economic downturn would force three members out of the game, and the remaining four have by all accounts invested their initial amount several times over. To those who look at the numbers and think, Flint isn’t worth it, this model seems like bad business at the least and sheer madness at most; but Flint’s rebirth is more than worth the cost to these men. The following details the backgrounds and foresight of Uptown’s four remaining founders.
Phil Shaltz of Shaltz Automation lives a very open life Downtown. In fact, the only thing Phil seems to hide well is his age, since at 65 he doesn’t even look 50—credited perhaps to the fact that Phil is a runner, participating in the Crim every year since its 1977 launch. It is not uncommon to happen upon Phil daily at any one of Downtown’s common areas. Phil told My City Magazine that it was never a question of whether or not Flint was a wise investment, because he loves the city. He says that the greatest challenge was not creating a business Downtown, but rather, creating something lasting that could be passed down to another generation. With that goal in mind, Phil is not yet convinced that the city is effectively mentoring promising entrepreneurs who can take the reins of sustainable growth.
“We don’t have enough mentoring in Flint,” Phil said. “At 65, I can’t pass my business on to a 25- or 30-year-old. Where’s the 35 to 50 age group? Business has to be done collectively, with people who are in tune with what the city needs. There needs to be a male/female, black/white system of relationships to help mold people to start businesses. I think there’s a greater responsibility than just becoming profitable if you want to be a part of the community.”
Staying true to his convictions, Phil is reaching out to local businessmen in an effort to establish a network of people dedicated to fostering Flint’s future. This explains the commitment he and his wife Ardele have to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint’s Give Forward initiative, which aims to promote business to area residents in the 20-50-year-old age group.
Outside of the business world, Phil created a local nonprofit diaper bank, which has already distributed 600,000 diapers to those in need in the Flint community. He got the idea from Joanne Goldblum, who started the nationally recognized Diaper Bank of Connecticut in 2004. Phil plans to give away close to one million diapers through his partnership with the Food Bank in 2013 alone. Why does Phil do all of this? As a businessman, he says he is looking for a certain return on his investment: “My return on investment is seeing my grandson thrive in Flint,” he says.
Ghassan Saab is a longtime friend of Phil’s. What started as a summer job opportunity in 1966 would become a lifelong career for Ghassan. He came to Flint from Lebanon as a college student when he was invited to work for Sorenson Gross, and has remained in Flint ever since. By 1972, Ghassan became Sorenson Gross’ CEO.
Ghassan, much like Phil, considers it each man’s responsibility in life to do something to benefit the place he calls home. “Flint is my home,” he says, “and one of my core beliefs is that it should be your mission in life to do what you can to improve your surroundings.” Ghassan thinks fondly of the time when he and the other men of Uptown decided to band together to pursue such improvements.
“The idea of putting the group together began to germinate in 2001. We had all experienced both success and failure in Flint, but I felt that we needed to keep trying, so we decided that instead of doing a bunch of big projects, we would do one small project at a time, and it worked.”
Concerning the group’s choice to start with Downtown, a move which has received criticism, Ghassan simply stated that “without a city center, you don’t have a community.” From the center of the city, Ghassan looks around and sees great potential in Flint. “We have what it takes, that is, the correct resources, human and natural. We still have a motivated workforce, so we must pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and continue. The city is terribly underrated. We have an incredibly beautiful environment with access to great recreation, lakes, and major cities, and our cultural center is literally second to none. All these things make Flint a tremendous place to raise a family.”
Gary Hurand knows a thing or two about being raised in and raising a family in Flint. As the son of Arthur Hurand, the man who blessed Flint with Dawn Donuts, Gary has a lot to live up to. His father, who was akin to Flint royalty, took a job in the plant at the age of 13, and afterward worked for his own business until he was 95. He served in World War II, and returned to Flint after the war “committed to his community,” as Gary says.
Gary’s upbringing under such a notable man as Arthur gave him a strong work ethic and a desire to be active in the community. A Central High School graduate, Gary walked to school every day, and his mother still lives in the house where he was raised on the east side of town. After growing and eventually outgrowing the family business, Gary dedicated most of his time and interests to restaurant construction in the area.
When the men of Uptown began to gather, Gary found himself in the mix, and he considered it a chance to continue being community minded while also “learning a new skill.” Gary stayed involved because he liked the idea of working with several different types of businessmen and organizations. “Uptown is a true partnership of the public and private sector. It took non-profit, for-profit, and governmental elements to make it work.”
Much like Ghassan, Gary finds a certain practicality to starting Downtown, and much like Phil, he thinks that recent growth can only be sustained by young innovators. “We just wanted to do good and hopefully do well, and we’ve accomplished good so far. We’re trying to grow from the center out, and I’d like to see ripple effects in the neighborhoods. This is a great town. It’s resilient and diverse, but we need young innovators, and we have to find a way to bridge the gap. We need to keep our kids here.”
Troy Farah, Co-Managing Partner of West Second Street Associates is the youngest remaining member. Troy is the son of George Farah, a Palestinian migrant who left Jerusalem in 1954 and found in Flint a new place to call home. George purchased the Capitol Theatre building in 1975, and the family business has operated from there since the 1980s. Troy is a 1982 graduate of Powers Catholic High School and a 1987 graduate of the University of Michigan.
Troy says he is impressed by how everyone has come together with a “common vision” and “a lot of cooperation over the years.” Though Troy humbly maintains that he is learning from the other men involved, he has accomplished much in his own right, and rightfully asserts that he and his family have been in the business of revitalizing Downtown Flint longer than most. When the chance to partner with the other men of Uptown Developments came about, Troy understood the immediate gratification of fixing up buildings, but he was amazed by the resulting impact.
“I figured we would renovate the buildings, but I never imagined the catalytic impact it would have: University housing, the Durant Hotel, the Flint Farmers’ Market. I believe it has raised the hope of the entire community, and that’s invaluable.”
Troy’s words have weight, even if they do come from Uptown’s junior member. He says that he sees social matters as Flint’s biggest challenge. “We have to confront the issues here in our backyard. Finding a way to improve these conditions is important.” In relation to Gary and Ghassan, Troy sees Downtown Flint as the best place to start, and he thinks progress Downtown should spur others to effect change in other neighborhoods.
Troy combined all of the parables provided by the men of Uptown into this aphorism: he called what Uptown does “real estate philanthropy.” Just like Phil, as a businessman, Troy is looking for a return on his investment. “It’s not a financial return on investment. The return on investment is the economic impact on Downtown and the benefits to the community. You can inspire change by revitalizing blight.”
After all the rumors have fallen to the ground, these words endure. Here are the men of Uptown Developments for everyone’s eyes to see: a group committed to and actively pushing Flint’s rebirth. They are from Flint, they live in Flint, they work in Flint, and they invest in Flint. A love for this city runs through their veins and it has for generations. They are palpable and personable people, the kind to stop mid-stride to shake your hand and share a laugh. |
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Mon Mar 31, 2014 6:56 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Philip Shaltz talks Flint revitalization at Martin Luther King tribute dinner, warns "We can't fail"
Chris Aldridge | caldridg@mlive.com By Chris Aldridge | caldridg@mlive.com
on January 18, 2013 at 8:00 AM
FLINT, MI -- One of the key forces in the effort to revitalize Flint said those efforts will be paralyzed if blacks and whites don't come together.
The warning from Uptown Developments co-founder Philip Shaltz was part of his keynote address at a citywide Martin Luther King tribute dinner Thursday, Jan. 17.
Shaltz said the city of Flint had a rich vitality and energy in its downtown district during his childhood in the ‘50s and ‘60s.
But as Shaltz said that has changed over the years.
“Unless you work for the bank, city or the county … you drive downtown, go to work, get out of work, get in your car. You go home. I think that’s a problem,” Shaltz said.
The progression of technology and social media provides today’s children with what Shaltz describes as a “wireless connection to the outside.”
“Our kids live in an 8 x 10 bedroom world,” Shaltz said. “Virtual friends, virtual experiences, virtual entertainment -- they don’t have a downtown experience.”
Shaltz pointed to efforts in recent years to bring back downtown but said the movement must continue.
"If it fails, (downtown) will never ever, ever, come back again," he said.
Lennetta Coney, president of The Foundation for Mott Community College, said Shaltz’s efforts parallel that of Martin Luther King Jr.’s.
“We’ve selected a local person who has a track record in many of the same respects of Martin Luther King in terms of doing something good for the community and bringing people together,” Coney said.
Crystal Flynn, diversity trainer at U-M Flint, said Martin Luther King, Jr. would want people today to keep pressing forward in addressing the city’s modern issues.
“We still have a lot to do in terms of revitalizing our city,” Crystal Flynn, diversity trainer at U-M Flint said.
When Flynn was asked what Martin Luther King, Jr. would do if he was alive in 2013, she said he would make sure people are working together "on a human level."
“I think he would be in the business of galvanizing and unifying people,” Flynn said. “Not just black folks helping black folks and white folks helping white folks … this is a people’s fight.”
Coney said about 360 people attended the tribute dinner at the Sarvis Conference Center Thursday night. The event sold out by Dec. 15 and Coney received a high volume of people calling after the holiday that wanted tickets.
Next year’s event will mark the 35th annual tribute dinner honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.
“After (tonight), we’ll be right underway with planning for the 35th,” Coney said. “It will be momentous.” |
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Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:04 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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But as Shaltz said that has changed over the years.
“Unless you work for the bank, city or the county … you drive downtown, go to work, get out of work, get in your car. You go home. I think that’s a problem,” Shaltz said......
....Shaltz pointed to efforts in recent years to bring back downtown but said the movement must continue.
"If it fails, (downtown) will never ever, ever, come back again," he said. |
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Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:07 am |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Could be this fear of failure be the driving force for the seemingly desperate move to give Shaltz the $100,000 no-bid, six month contract? Word around Flint is the downtown is not faring all that well in the evenings.
Wise Guys pizza closed because there was not enough evening traffic. The restaurant reviews of Blackstone's was mixed, but mostly negative. The largest criticism was over staff, however any reviews criticized the food and the prices |
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Mon Mar 31, 2014 7:12 am |
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