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http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/inde...l#incart_river

Here's what's happening with seven projects driving Flint's downtown revival

By Ron Fonger | rfonger1@mlive.com The Flint Journal
on June 16, 2015 at 5:00 AM, updated June 16, 2015 at 8:35 AM

FLINT, MI -- Seven projects -- some nearly complete and some just started -- are changing the look of downtown as the city heads into summer.

Here's what's behind the blocked sidewalks, dust and hardhats tied to all that work:

•Capitol Theatre: There's plenty happening at the Capitol Theatre this summer, but the work is being done in meeting rooms rather than with bricks and mortar.
A subsidiary of Uptown Reinvestment Corp. signed a deal to buy the Capitol, located at Harrison and Second streets, and in April announced plans to spend an estimated $21 million to redevelop and reopen the landmark building.

The Friends of the Capitol Theatre is spending the coming months performing due diligence and finalizing a financial structure for the project.

"I don't anticipate that there will be any news until late summer into fall on this project," Marcus Papin, marketing, project and property manager for Uptown Reinvestment Corp., said in an email to MLive-The Flint Journal.

With renovation plans already prepared, construction is expected to move very quickly once it starts, with work expected to be completed as soon as 16 months from now.

•Harrison Street: Closed since December 2013, Harrison Street, between First and Second streets, reopened for one-way vehicle traffic late last month after having been closed since December 2013.
But the work isn't completed -- it's just a pause until the city's biggest events are finished later this summer.

The city is using a $203,800 grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to transform Harrison into a street that encourages walking and biking from Fourth Street to the Flint River.

Among the changes: a protected two-way bicycle lane, new landscaping and on-street parking.

•Downtown park: Within days, work is expected to be completed at a new park that's been developed on the site of the old Genesee Towers building.
Sprinkler system lines were being dug Wednesday, June 10, and work to connect to water is also expected to happen this week, Papin said.

The addition of sod will finish work on the park -- something that could happen next week.

•Former Perry drug store: Located at 600 S. Saginaw St., the property could be redeveloped into multiple businesses by Uptown, which is waiting to see if Flint's Receivership Transition Advisory Board grants it a tax break.
City Administrator Natasha Henderson and Mayor Dayne Walling support freezing the taxable value of the property for 12 years, but the majority of the City Council oppose it.

Uptown has owned the property since purchasing it from Genesee County in 2006. The county had purchased the property in 2000 after a Family Dollar store that operated there nearly five years closed.

Prior to Family Dollar, the property was home to a Perry drug store, which closed in 1994.

The next meeting of the RTAB is July 15.

•Former Woolworth building: Very tentative work started earlier this spring on the exterior of 550 S. Saginaw St., but there are no short-term plans for the building, according to Papin.
The property was included in a new Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act district approved by the city earlier this year, creating potential tax benefits for a developer.

•Riverbank Park: The first phase of work to redevelop Riverbank Park, immediately south of the Flint River, is expected to start in the next 10 days and will go on for four to six weeks, according to the city of Flint.
All work is west of Saginaw Street and east of Garland Street, and includes construction of a new launch for canoes and kayaks, filling of existing canals, restoration and reconstruction of stairs and concrete walks in areas leading into the park, and construction of a new ADA accessible ramp to provide easier and safer access to the amphitheater stage.

After phase one, a timeline from the city says work will restart immediately after the Crim Festival of Races and is expected to continue for another eight to 10 weeks.

•Dryden Building: No site has been more active downtown this year than the Dryden, but information about the final use of the building has been slower in coming out.
New signage on the ground level of the Dryden building hints that a convenience store could be coming to downtown Flint.

MLive-The Flint Journal could not reach owner Phil Hagerman, chief executive officer of Diplomat Pharmacy, who has said the roof of the building, which opened in 1902, has been replaced and much of the exterior work has been done.

Aframes, an eyewear company, has already moved into the building as its first new tenant.

Ron Fonger is a reporter for The Flint Journal. Contact him at rfonger1@mlive.com or 810-247-9963. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Looking good with these developments, pretty much just need the old Genesee Bank and the buildings behind it to be redeveloped. I saw the front door of the Metropolis opened yesterday, hopefully they were checking out for possible rehab.