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UPTOWN REINVESTMENT CORPORATION TO REMODEL FORMER DOWNTOWN HOTEL WITH $20-MILLION MOTT FOUNDATION GRANT, February 2009
The Uptown Reinvestment Corporation (URC) has purchased the vacant Character Inn in downtown Flint with the help of a $20-million repayable grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The URC plans to use the grant to acquire the 16-story, former 372-room hotel and turn it
into a state-of-the-art living/learning center.
The Mott grant was made to URC’s supporting organization, the Foundation for Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, and the proceeds were then made available to the URC. Development will take place in three phases. The first, to be paid for with proceeds of the Mott grant, is targeted for fall 2009 completion. The work will include converting the third through eighth floors into 250 beds of suite-style student housing (similar to that at First Street Residence Hall on the University of Michigan-Flint campus). The entire building, as well as the heating and air-conditioning systems, will be updated in the first phase. Future phases could result in a total of 550 beds, in addition to classrooms, entertainment amenities and meeting space.
The Mott Foundation earlier had transferred its option on the building to the URC, which is buying the Character Inn from the Institute for Basic Life Principles. The structure had opened in 1981 as a Hyatt Regency Hotel. The Mott grant is to be repaid at the end of 10 years, with interim payments required based on cash flow, or upon sale of the building. “Studies have shown that educational opportunities and redevelopment of the urban core are two key ingredients to the revitalization of older industrial cities,” said William S. White, Mott Foundation president. “While this represents a bold step, we believe it important to continue the momentum in the redevelopment of downtown Flint and the growth of higher Genesee County.”
“The redevelopment of the Character Inn for student housing is a significant milestone and will continue to bring new life to downtown Flint,” said Tim Herman, president of the URC Board of Directors and CEO of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce. “Every time we create an opportunity for students to live and learn in downtown Flint, we change the face and the future of our community. We are moving closer to our goal of having
1,000 students living in the central city by 2010. These students will bring new life and new vitality to a city that is rapidly becoming a modern urban center. That is good news for all of Genesee County.”
UM-Flint opened its first on-campus housing in fall 2008, with 308 students filling the $21-million First Street Residence Hall to capacity. The Mott Foundation provided a $1.75- million grant toward that building. Last November the Mott Foundation commissioned the Scion Group LLC, a student housing research and development company based in Chicago, to assess the local demand for student housing. Its research revealed that there is a current demand for an additional 474 spaces and projected a future need for nearly 970 beds by the start of the 2013 academic year. Based on this study, developers believe the converted hotel will help meet these demands beginning this fall. Additional details about the new housing -- including contact information, costs and occupancy dates -- will be released by the URC on the Web site www.flintstudenthousing.com as they become available.
The Mott Foundation, established in 1926 in Flint by an automotive pioneer, is a private philanthropy committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. Besides Flint, offices are located in metropolitan Detroit, Johannesburg (South Africa) and London. For more information, visit Mott.org. The Uptown Reinvestment Corporation was formed as a non-profit corporation to strategically target areas in downtown Flint to redevelop. Its focus and vision are to acquire vacant and inactive buildings and redevelop them into mixed-use buildings, using public private partnerships and other innovative development tools. For more information on the project please visit www.flintstudenthousing.com.
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New Blackstone's restaurant heading to downtown Flint; latest of string of projects to revitalize area, cater to students, October 2008
by Melissa Burden | The Flint Journal
Wednesday October 15, 2008, 7:23 AM
FLINT, Michigan -- College students and downtown workers are about to get something they've wanted for a long time: a full-service restaurant and bar that's open nights and weekends. Uptown Reinvestment Corp. and Blackstone's LLC were to announce during a news conference this morning plans to renovate the former Blackstone's men's clothing store, 531 S. Saginaw St. Blackstone's Pub & Grill, with about 90 seats, could open in March 2009, and bring 40 to 60 new jobs, said Keith D. Green, a partner in Blackstone's LLC and Fenton Township resident. Green, 43, and David Lurvey, 35, of Argentine Township, are partnering with the nonprofit Uptown Reinvestment Corp. to redevelop the building that has been vacant for about 10 years. Green and Lurvey said they want to be part of downtown's revival and said student housing and the increasing number of downtown workers are big incentives to bring a much-needed restaurant and entertainment venue downtown. "The plan right now is to be open seven days a week," Green said. Lurvey, who has been working on renovation projects downtown since 2003 and who works for the company that built the new Wade Trim Building, said two to three years ago it would be difficult to speculate this project being a success. "Now, we feel it's evident there's a need," he said.
The restaurant will feature a "modern, rustic" decor, with cobblestone wood floors, exposed ceiling and glass doors that open outside for sidewalk seating in the warmer months. The facade will be refurbished with a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Flint.
Blackstone's Pub & Grill will offer live entertainment, which could open up to the sidewalk during activities such as the Crim Festival of Races and Back to the Bricks, Green said. "This is not going to be a peanuts-on-the-floor college bar," he said.
Blackstone's LLC will lease the building for seven years, but also is partnering on some of the cost.
A renovation price tag is not available, said Ridgway White, project manager for Uptown Developments, a real estate development and management company working with the partners. The building was donated by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to Uptown Reinvestment Corp. Today's announcement follows last week's official opening of the Wade Trim Building, a $5.2 million project that includes the engineering firm as the anchor tenant, four loft apartments and a new Mexican restaurant Soyla's, set to open by Dec. 1.
Uptown Developments hopes to help open five new restaurants in the downtown over the next two years. Green said Blackstone's would welcome more dining options for the city center.
And Nadine Cook, co-owner of Churchill's, a restaurant and bar open for more than a decade along South Saginaw Street, would welcome new restaurants that offer something different from hers.
The restaurant, which is open for breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday, is adding karaoke on Wednesday nights and extended its kitchen hours on some evenings to accommodate the about 300 students who live in the University of Michigan-Flint's new First Street Residence Hall.
"We are so excited about new businesses coming downtown and turning this into a college town," Cook said. "But it's kind of like until we get more people ... you're worried if you're going to survive."
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REDEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR MOTT BLOCK UNVEILED;
WADE TRIM RECOMMITS TO DOWNTOWN - May, 2007
FLINT, Michigan -- The continuing redevelopment of downtown Flint took a large step forward today with the announcement of plans for the entire Mott Block on S. Saginaw Street. The redevelopment plans were unveiled at a 10 a.m. press conference in the lobby of the Mott Foundation Conference Center.
The project will be anchored by a new, mixed-use 27,000 square foot building with civil engineering firm Wade Trim as the primary office tenant. Wade Trim has committed to the heart of downtown Flint by signing a 12-year lease and plans to move 25 jobs into the building. Its Flint office is currently at 601 N. Saginaw Street.
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is expected to provide $4.2 million for the project through grants to the Foundation for the Uptown Redevelopment Corporation (F-URC). The total redevelopment of the east side of the 500 block of S. Saginaw Street is expected to cost $8 million.
The block is being developed by Uptown Developments, LLC, in partnership with the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation (URC), Uptown Six, LLC and Baker College of Flint. Ownership of the five buildings in the redevelopment plan was transferred to the F-URC from the Mott Foundation in September 2006.
“It is heartening to see the redevelopment of this property move forward,” said William S. White, Mott Foundation president. “This will leverage and complement efforts that are currently under way across the street and on nearby blocks.”
“With the completion of several projects, and other construction projects under way, this new Wade Trim office complex and the redevelopment of the Mott Block will move us another step toward making our downtown much stronger,” said Tim Herman, CEO of the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The new office complex, to be constructed in the middle of the block, will have space for five entertainment-oriented restaurants or retailers on the ground floor, 8,500 square feet of office space for Wade Trim on the second floor, and four high-end lofts on the third floor.
Wade Trim, headquartered in Detroit, has more than 450 employees in 18 regional offices in seven states.
“Wade Trim is pleased to continue our long-term commitment to the Genesee County area by maintaining our presence within the city of Flint, as we have for almost 20 years,” said Jason Kenyon, the firm’s Flint office manager. “It’s exciting to be part of the city’s downtown revitalization on the bricks of historic Saginaw Street.”
The redevelopment will require the demolition of the former Jewish Federation, NBD Trust and Legal Services of Eastern Michigan buildings in the middle of the block.
The construction is designed to blend with the historic architecture of downtown. The three-story facade of the new building will feature dramatic, two-story red brick arches with a large, curved glass curtain wall.
The complex also will include an outdoor pedestrian plaza through the center of the block that will provide a place for outdoor dining and small community events. The plaza will connect Saginaw Street to Brush Alley.
The plans also call for complete interior and exterior renovations of the former Copa and Blackstone’s buildings to bring them up to code. They will be marketed as “white box space” (an open space with no decorations, furniture or fixtures) to potential tenants.
Architects for the project are THA Architects and Engineers of Flint. The expected completion date of the Wade Trim building is August 2008
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UPTOWN DEVELOPMENTS LLC BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF
MAJOR MIXED-USE REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN DOWNTOWN FLINT- March, 2006
FLINT, MI - - Uptown Developments, LLC has officially begun the construction of a major mixed-use redevelopment project in downtown Flint. The $12.5-million project includes the adaptive re-use of three historic buildings on the west side of the 500 block of Saginaw Street. Built between 1880 and 1920, the buildings will be renovated into one modern office-loft-retail building with a soaring four-story lobby atrium. Rowe Incorporated will be the main tenant, consolidating more than 100 employees from two Flint-area offices into the new downtown headquarters.
The development involves new construction, as well as renovation of three existing buildings including the former Maas Brothers department store, Carlton’s Stationers, and Jewelry World. The second and third floors will be transformed into offices for Rowe Incorporated’s corporate headquarters; themed restaurants will be located on the main level; a nightclub will occupy the basement; and eight loft apartments will occupy the fourth floor. The focal point of the project will be a new four-story glass atrium.
“In designing the building, we looked at several designs which would not only give the building a strong identity, but also dramatically improve the Saginaw Street streetscape. An eye-catching tilted glass front to the building was designed, which turned out to be not only the signature of the building, but also an energy saving feature, as well,” notes Project Designer Shannon Easter, THA Architects Engineers.
A suspended catwalk bridge will connect the north and south ends of the building, while exposed brick and windows into the atrium will give the development an industrial aesthetic. The project has been especially challenging, since the three buildings were constructed at different times and with different construction methods. Carlton’s Stationers, the shortest of the three existing buildings, was built using large steel beams and concrete, while the other two buildings were constructed out of steel girders and wood. Adding to the challenge, all three buildings have different floor levels, which will be adjusted with ramps and stairs to create one continuous office floor. As part of the construction process, a third and fourth floor will be added to the Carlton’s building; a fourth floor will be added to the former Jewelry World building; and the second, third, and fourth floors of the former Maas Building will be totally removed and rebuilt.
The eight loft-style apartments will range in size from 1,400 square feet to 2,500 square feet. Each of the apartments feature two-story lofts. The apartments feature large windows for taking in the city views, hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, washing machines and dryers.
“The beginning of construction for this mixed-use development is an important step in our efforts to redevelop downtown Flint,” notes Scott Whipple, project director for Uptown Developments, LLC. “We are extremely excited that our first lease of the 500 Block Mixed-Use Development is of such a high quality. The commitment of Rowe Incorporated to downtown Flint will bring more than jobs to downtown Flint and will launch the exciting comeback of downtown Flint.”
The Rowe Incorporated/500 Block project is being developed by Uptown Developments, LLC, a partnership of private investors throughout the community, which include: 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 Bloomfield Ford; Ghassan Saab, a partner in Sorensen-Gross Construction; and Philip Shaltz, president and owner of Shaltz Fluid Power. In addition, Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is one of the partners of Uptown Developments, LLC.
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