The Genesee County Land Bank is dedicated to returning Land Bank owned properties to the tax role while supporting Smart Growth through programs that preserve, sustain, stabilize and reinvest in built communities. This is a hallmark of our property development team. This team is responsible for identifying development opportunities on Land Bank owned properties, creating plans, devising a strategy for accomplishing the goal and seeing the development through to completion. Current projects include scattered site in-fill, multi-family condominium development, joint-venture rehabilitation program, mixed use commercial redevelopment and single-family construction. The current pipeline includes over 100 units of housing both market rate and affordable, 30,000 sq ft. of Commercial/Retail space.
| Hughes and Hatcher Redevelopment | Top
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The Land Bank Center is an example of a Land Bank mixed use commercial redevelopment project in downtown Flint.
Since 1980, almost thirty years of being boarded-up and empty, the former Hughes and Hatcher Clothing Store has become the Land Bank Center and home of the Genesee County Land Bank Authority. This property, which was owned by A.M. Davison Clothier, was the victim of a tax foreclosure process that hopelessly mired tax reverted properties in a legal limbo. This contributed to urban decline in Flint by keeping properties off of the tax roll and out of circulation for up to seven years.
Cutting the red tape shaved five years off of the foreclosure process and allowed the Genesee County Land Bank Authority to take ownership of 452 S. Saginaw, the former Hughes and Hatcher building. With the 1999 Public Act 123, the Treasurer’s Office was able to clear the title of the Hughes and Hatcher Clothing Store of previous liens and the ownership interest of all 22 owners. Thus, the Land Bank was able to develop a derelict building in the center of downtown Flint to an attractive, modern, mixed use building called the Land Bank Center. The new Land Bank Center now houses retail space, A-1 office space including the Land bank and two addition offices, and 7 loft style apartments. All renovations were completed in November of 2005.
The Land Bank Center consists of 36,000 sq. ft. over four floors:• The first floor will be used to house a retail tenant.
• The second floor will be used as the Land Bank headquarters. This space includes a conference room able to seat 30 people, office space for a staff of 12, room for several consultants, and even space for an intern.
• The third floor will have offices for the Genesee Institute, an attorney’s office and three apartments. The Genesee Institute is a sister organization of the Land Bank and conducts research on issues related to Land Banks, smart growth and other land use matters.
• The fourth floor has four loft style apartments.
The Land Bank Center will be a source of hope and inspiration for years to come. The process that this building went through will serve as a template for the future that can be passed on and duplicated. The Genesee County Land Bank hopes to sell the property to someone that resonates with the values set forth by those who are working hard every day to revitalize and invest in Flint.
| The Berridge Place Project | Top
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This historic hotel is set to begin a new lease on life; plans are currently underway to transform the 24,000 square foot Berridge Hotel – constructed in 1928 near downtown Flint – into a 21-unit condominium development.
The $6.2-million Berridge Place Project will include a complete renovation of the former hotel’s interior and restoration of its outside façade. Each of the units will average 1,000 sq. ft. and will feature loft and townhouse-style living spaces (1, 2, 3 bedroom units), while commercial space in the building’s first floor will provide needed amenities to local residents.
Also included will be the renovation of the historic Tinlinn House – a 4,800 sq. ft. facility immediately adjacent to the Berridge – into four rental units. Both buildings are located in the city’s historic Carriage Town Neighborhood.
Dan Kildee of the Land Bank noted that the project will help strengthen both the neighborhood and the greater Flint community. “By ‘bringing back the Berridge,’ this project will further fuel a growing sense of hope and opportunity among area residents. It will also re-use a jewel of Flint’s past to create high quality, affordable housing that is so essential to the city’s new future.”
The project is the result of collaborative efforts between the Genesee County Land Bank and Court Street Village Non-Profit Housing Corporation. Other partners include the City of Flint, the Charles Steward Mott and Ruth Mott foundations, the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Genesee County and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.
The project, expected to be completed in mid-2008, is on of several revitalization efforts currently underway in Flint. In Sept. a “re-groundbreaking” was held to launch the construction of eight new homes and rehabilitation of five others in the Carriage Town Neighborhood’s Stone Street area. That project is also expected to be completed by summer of 2008.
Plans call for construction of several new, historically sensitive homes that will increase the housing stock available in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, Carriage Town. Within walking distance of a major medical center and two university campuses, Stone Street is on the brink of recapturing its residential vibrancy.
This project represents the first concrete step toward fulfilling the vision laid out by the
Flint River District redevelopment plan. It will help improve the overall appearance of the Carriage Town neighborhood as well as provide new housing opportunities for employees from neighboring institutions who are interested in a 'walk to work' lifestyle.
Altogether, this will account for $2.8 million in investment. Thirteen new homeownership opportunities, nine affordable new housing units built by the Land Bank and five houses -- donated by the
Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood Association and the Atwood Authority -- will be redeveloped by the Flint Neighborhood Improvement and Preservation Program. In addition to the new and rehabilitated houses, new sidewalks and streetlights will define the properties. This will make two completely restored city blocks of housing in the Flint River District area.
Architectural designs for the houses have been approved by the Flint Historic District Commission.
Funded by the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the city of Flint, Brownfield Tax Increment Financing and a $125,000 grant from the Mott Foundation, the Stone Street Project will provide high-quality, single-family dwellings designed to appeal to middle-class families. Built on parcels acquired by the land bank to support comprehensive neighborhood development efforts in highly visible areas, the homes will be priced between $100,000 and $150,000.
The Stone Street Project is a small-scale example of a national trend toward "smart growth," a development philosophy used by urban planners that concentrates growth in the center of a city to avoid sprawl. Smart growth advocates compact, pedestrian friendly land use with a range of housing choices.
Flint's Carriage Town neighborhood is ideal for this type of development. Characterized by housing stock unique to Flint and Genesee County, Carriage Town also has a strong neighborhood organization and a higher concentration of knowledge workers and artists than most city and county neighborhoods.
The land bank is attempting to improve market conditions for housing in central Flint through targeted investments designed to increase area housing values. While economic conditions in Flint will be an ongoing concern, hopefully efforts like the Stone Street Project will help stabilize neighborhoods and ultimately leverage additional private investment in the Flint River District and other city neighborhoods.
This article has been edited for the Land Bank Website. Read the original article by Ann Richards, Mott News: September 04, 2007.
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