UPTOWN REINVESTMENT CORPORATION TO REMODEL FORMER DOWNTOWN HOTEL WITH $20-MILLION MOTT FOUNDATION GRANT

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.”

"I believe in 5 to 10 years, Flint's downtown will come back," he said. "I watched Brooklyn and the Bronx go downhill, and I watched them come back. If that can happen in New York, I don't see why it can't happen in Flint. "By doing a little urban pioneering, I like to think I'm a small part of this larger process."

Lofts are an urban phenomenon, originating in Paris in the mid-1800s as artists sought space to create and exhibit the oversized paintings popular at the time. Purists still insist a true loft contain both living and work space -- preferably located in abandoned commercial properties featuring the requisite high ceilings, wooden or concrete flooring and large windows that give lofts their unique appeal.

“I watched Brooklyn and the Bronx go downhill, and I watched them come back. If that can happen in New York, I don't see why it can't happen in Flint.”

Generally, any apartment in an urban location that features open floor plans, generous natural light and high ceilings now is considered a loft. Commercial buildings, often abandoned by businesses that relocate to more accessible, highly populated suburbs, are ideal properties for this type of adaptive re-use, according to Karen A. Bilich, author of the Lofts Fact Sheet.

Like many central cities, Flint has witnessed a decline in its downtown area despite the development of a major university campus and proximity to a variety of cultural institutions. To counter this negative trend, a downtown master plan, created by Sasaki Associates, Inc. in 2002, was developed by the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation with Mott funding. The master plan is being used as the basis for a number of redevelopment strategies, including new housing initiatives that will feed demand for complementary shops and services.

"When I began looking for housing, I realized I'd always lived in cities with a downtown," Wardell said. "In this area, Flint is the only place with a real downtown."

Wardell also has a professional interest in the fate of Flint's central city. "Living downtown sensitizes me to what's possible," he said. "What happens at Hurley is very tied into what happens downtown. Understanding issues related to the city's redevelopment is very helpful to me."

A key institution in close proximity to downtown Flint, Hurley is uniquely positioned to support the city's revitalization efforts Wardell said. Currently, Hurley is developing a master facility and land-use plan for the campus that also addresses neighborhood development. A multiyear grant of $232,000 from the Mott Foundation is supporting Hurley's efforts to align this work with the Sasaki master plan.

"We have about 2,500 employees at Hurley," Wardell said. Safe, well-maintained neighborhoods near the medical center are a great incentive for keeping and recruiting high caliber staff. Hurley plans to conduct an employee survey to assess interest in purchasing or renting homes near the medical center as part of the neighborhood revitalization plan.

Wardell is convinced that "as long as downtowns are safe and pedestrian friendly," there is a housing market for the central city. Whipple agrees.

"Tastes are changing," he said. "Younger people are bored by the suburbs and older people are tired of mowing their lawns. Single people are the fastest growing segment of the population. Housing choices are becoming increasingly different from previous decades."