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Topic: What's happening Downtown Flint??

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Steve Myers
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S. Saginaw Street downtown has become home to plenty of revival initiatives: new businesses, housing and more. Here's a sampling:
Loft apartments, under construction.

The Brown Sugar Cafe, opening in April.

Pages Bookstore, opened in December.

A combined brew pub, restaurant, nightclub, lofts and offices for a large company.

Restoring two-way traffic on some one-way streets.


Details inside
Get a first look at the vision for two whole blocks of a new downtown Flint, on pages A6 and A7.


Uptown times three

Three "Uptowns" are involved in redeveloping downtown Flint:
Uptown Reinvestment Inc.: Created in 2000 by the Downtown Development Authority and the Genesee Area Focus Council to acquire some of the vacant buildings downtown. It first bought the Republic Bank building, four vacant buildings and an empty lot, then obtained other buildings that also were transferred to Uptown Developments.

Uptown Six: A group of six initial investors who bought the buildings. There now are eight partners: George Falaras, a partner in Blue Collar Gourmet restaurants; Troy Farah, a co-owner of the Capitol Theatre; Gary Hurand of Management Diversified Inc.; Alfred Kloss, owner of Daystar Development; LaVal Perry, owner of All-American Ford Lincoln Mercury; James Petty, owner of Petty Investments; Ghassan Saab, a partner in Sorensen-Gross Construction; and Philip Shaltz, president and owner of Shaltz Fluid Power.

Uptown Developments: A group formed by investors to develop the properties. Uptown Reinvestment holds a 10 percent share in Uptown Developments.


S. Saginaw Street

500 block

There's a plan or a project in place for practically every building on the west side of the 500 block of S. Saginaw Street. The grandest vision is to reconfigure three current buildings into one larger structure that would include everything from a brew pub to housing to office space. Here's a look at the block. Buildings owned by redevelopment planners Uptown Developments are noted. Buildings shown in color are those where projects are planned, completed or in the works.

Cost estimates are given where available.


Former Woolworth store
Includes closed plasma center

and Downtown Dollar store


Former PSI building, Jewelry World

and former Carlton building
Owned or Being Acquired by: Uptown Developments

Planned use: Adding two floors to Carlton building, creating space for loft apartments on top floors, offices on second floors, brew pub and restaurant on first floor, night club in Carlton basement


Former Paging Plus
Building includes a pub, Rodney's Loft, which now is entered from Buckham Alley. Plans call for expanding the pub into part of the building formerly used by the phone store.


Time building
Tenant: Time clock service

Building facade improved with facade program grant


Flint Optical Center
New facade financed in part through downtown facade program


Former Metropolis building
Being Acquired by: Uptown Developments

Suggested use: Night club


Former Baker Drugs

and Dale's Foods

for Health
Owner: Uptown Developments

Suggested use: Combine the two buildings to create a new restaurant, with office uses on second floor, lofts above


Republic Bank building
Owner: Uptown Developments

Status: Construction to start soon on loft apartments

Estimated project cost:

$6.2 million

Republic Bank on first and second floors

Plan is to convert top five floors into loft apartments


Land Bank building

(formerly Hughes

& Hatcher)
Owner: Genesee County

Status: Building gutted and under construction

Estimated project cost: $3.8 million

Land Bank office on second floor

Loft apartments on third and fourth floors
Commercial use on first floor


Former Billy's Pub
Status: Closed


Lunch Studio restaurant
Status: Open


Legal Services of Eastern Michigan
Status: Facade restored with grants from C.S. Mott Foundation


Former Economy building
Owner: Uptown Developments

Estimated project cost: $400,000

Status: Currently being remodeled

Brown Sugar Cafe and branch office for Sorensen Gross on first floor

Research company on second floor

Loft apartment on top floor


J. London men's wear
Status: Open


Mad Hatter
Status: Future home of Down-town Dollar, Jewelry World stores


Former Roberts David Alan store
Owner: Uptown Developments

Planned use: Commercial space on first floor, offices on second floor, offices or lofts on third floor


Thompson-Dexel building
TENANTS: Michigan Secretary of State, Premier Insurance on first floor, Downtown Development Authority and other offices on upper floors


S. Saginaw Street

400 block

The next block north of the 500 block features one recently completed project ?the Legal Services of Eastern Michigan building, formerly the Atwood Building ?and a few projects well under way: the Republic Bank building, the former Hughes & Hatcher and the former Economy building.
Post Sun Mar 06, 2005 10:22 am 
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