| Genesee County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (GCBRA) | Top |
The Genesee County Board of Commissioners established the Genesee County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (GCBRA) in 2001 under the authority of the Michigan Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act (PA 381 of 1996, as amended). The authority provides a mechanism to support the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfields - properties that are, or perceived to be, environmentally contaminated, owned or under the control of a Land Bank Authority, or blighted and functionally obsolete and located in a Core Community within Genesee County.
Brownfield Redevelopment Authority’s Web Page
NATIONAL LAND BANK RESEARCH
The Genesee Institute has been established as an affiliate of the Genesee County Land Bank. Its purpose is to provide technical assistance to jurisdictions interested in establishing their own land banks and to provide opportunities for planning and research having a direct bearing on issues related to vacated properties, sustainable neighborhoods, urban sprawl and growth management.
The Genesee Institute Board and Staff
Daniel Kildee, President
Christina Kelly, Executive Vice President
Jon Care, Secretary and Treasurer
Robert Beckley
Olof Karlstrom
Frank Alexander
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The Genesee
Institute Office Location
452 S. Saginaw Street • Suite #305
Flint, MI 48502
phone: ..(810) 233-7315
fax:........(810) 233-7381
website: www.geneseeinstitute.org |
Planning
Planning support is provided to the Genesee County Land Bank through the Genesee Institute. The institute has expertise in regional planning, smart growth, sustainable neighborhoods and Brownfield development. Such planning practices are but to use in the Land Bank’s
Property Assessment Process.
Technical Assistance
The Genesee Institute provides consulting services to public jurisdictions interested in establishing a land bank for their own jurisdictions. A team of expert consultants is formed for this purpose through the Genesee Institute. The team includes elected officials, legal experts, information specialists and management consultants with land bank experience. Site visits and hands on advising are a part of each consultation.
Institute Research
The Institute is especially interested in research that supports developing and applying knowledge of issues and land use, sprawl and urban revitalization that have a direct association with the creation and implementation of Land Banks. Research is divided into
seven topical areas: tax foreclosure reform, planning, finance, marketing and development, land management, preservation and affordable housing. These topic areas are only provided to suggest the broad array of subjects of interest to the Institute.
| Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) | Top |
Michigan LISC website
In Michigan, no other community has taken a longer or harder economic hit than Flint; one result of the economic downturn is the overabundance of properties that have reverted to government ownership for nonpayment of taxes. In their effort to take some dramatic steps to effectively manage and dispose of the properties, Genesee County officials contacted the LISC Knowledge Sharing Initiative for information on establishing a land bank. Michigan LISC responded by forming a partnership and working intensively with Genesee County to create the first land bank in Michigan, the Genesee County Land Reutilization Council (LRC).
Michigan LISC also opened an office in Flint located at
436 S. Saginaw Street, Suite 408, Flint, MI 48502; Phone: 810.233.4299. LISC also dedicated a Senior Program Officer
Michael Freeman, and Neighborhood Planner,
Jeff Burdick, to the tasks of establishing and operating the LRC or now known as the Genesee County Land Bank. To address the immediate community blight, special dollars were allocated for the demolition of unsafe and unsalvageable properties that have reverted to the city; LISC is also working with area Community Development Corperations (CDCs) to increase their capacity so they will be able to assist in many of the revitalization and development projects.
In 2002, Michigan LISC was restructured in order to establish a more comprehensive approach to meeting the needs of communities outside of the Detroit metropolitan area. With strong programs in Kalamazoo and Lansing established in the late 1980's, Michigan LISC is strengthening efforts with additional offices in Grand Rapids and Flint, as well as reaching out to smaller cities and communities throughout the state. Michigan LISC is currently serving over 50 CDCs across the state.
LISC believes that rebuilding a strong and vibrant community requires resources, ingenuity and powerful leadership to focus and develop community efforts; Michigan LISC has provided strong leadership by establishing Local Advisory Committees to oversee it's programs, delivered countless hours of technical assistance to CDCs, created vibrant growth opportunities through raising and channeling philanthropic and corporate financial support, and created innovative programs and services to meet the unique needs of the local communities it serves.
| Court Street Village (CSV) | Top |
Court Street Village Non Profit Housing Corp. (CSV) was organized in 1986 to provide senior apartments and promote healthy neighborhoods in downtown Flint, Mi. Today CSV owns 312 units of senior and family affordable apartments and operates a support program for the four neighborhood associations located closest to the downtown area. CSV has a subsidiary Property Management Company that manages the CSV apartments and rental properties of other owners.
CSV began a neighborhood support program in 1994 for the four neighborhood associations closest to the downtown area. There are approximately 2400 housing units in these four neighborhoods. With the assistance of an initial grant from the LISC AmeriCorps program, a neighborhood program director was hired to assist the homeowner associations in the Central Park, Fairfield Village, Grand Traverse and Carriage Town areas.
The Neighborhood Empowerment Program has been successful in assisting these neighborhood associations in their efforts to create a stronger and more livable neighborhood. CSV has also received and administered more than $840,000.00 in Federal CDBG grants to rehabilitate 22 homes in the 4 neighborhoods over the last 10 years.
Currently CSV is implementing a CDBG grant of $50,000 to correct exterior code violations on 6 homes, in the Central Park, Fairfield & Carriage Town neighborhoods and a Grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation of $25,000 to correct exterior code violations and exterior beautification of several homes in the GTND.
CSV is also participating in the Berridge Hotel project in partnership with the Genesee LandBank.
| Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood Association (CTHNA) | Top |
| Post Office Box 1151, Flint, MI 48501 |
phone: 810.767.3513 |
website: www.cthna.org |
The Genesee County Land Bank has partnered with CTHNA to redevelop and revitalize the area. Two main focuses are rehabilitating and building new historically conscious homes on Stone Street and restoring the Berridge Hotel. By partnering with the neighborhood association and involving the neighborhood in every step of the way, the Land Bank is assuring the new development projects will be supported by the neighborhood residents as well as assuring the designs incorporate well into the neighborhood’s historic look and feel.
The Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood’s boundaries are the Flint River on the south, Fifth Avenue on the north, Begole Street and Atwood Stadium on the west, and Harrison/N. Saginaw St. on the east. This area is rich in Flint history. It is here that early Native Americans camped and Flint’s first settler, Jacob Smith made his home in 1819.
The name, “Carriage Town,” is due to the Durant-Dort Carriage Company founded by J. Dallas Dort and William C. Durant. The company became the world’s largest volume producers of horse drawn carriages, where many of its workers and management lived in the neighborhood between 1885 and 1917. The success of the carriage manufacturers in Flint lead to Flint being named the “Vehicle City” in 1905.
It was at the Durant-Dort Office Building on Water Street, using his knowledge gained from creating the largest carriage company, that Billy Durant formed the General Motors Corporation in 1908. Thanks to Durant’s respect for Flint, the City became one of the largest automobile manufacturing cities in the world during the 20th century.
In 1982, during the restoration of the National Landmark building, the Durant-Dort Office Building, which is considered the official birthplace of General Motors, active members of the community were inspired to form the Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood Association (CTHNA) to clean up the surrounding area. Part of the MotorCities-Automobile National Heritage Area under the National Park Service since 1998.
CTHNA’s mission is to preserve and promote our neighborhood, to stimulate future reinvestment in the area, and to build a sense of community, making Carriage Town an attractive, clean and safe neighborhood in which to live.
