WADE TRIM PROJECT

Description of Project:
Plans were announced in May for the entire Mott Block on S. Saginaw Street. 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.

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation will 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 on 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.

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. 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 façade 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 to 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. The expected completion date of the Wade Trim building is August 2008.

Background Information:
Uptown Developments, LLC was formed in 2002 specifically to acquire and renovate real estate in downtown Flint. The development team consists of eight Flint-based investors that have strong ties to the community and own and manage some of the most respected businesses in Flint. They are a diverse group of community leaders that share a vision of reinventing downtown Flint with a focus on solid real estate investment in housing, office, retail, and cultural/arts/entertainment uses.

The team also includes the Uptown Reinvestment Corporation, a nonprofit organization with a focus on revitalizing downtown Flint. The Uptown Reinvestment Corporation’s recent accomplishments include the Saginaw Street streetscape project and the leasing of the former McDonald’s property to Mega Coney Island.

Currently, Uptown Developments has $22 million dollars worth of investment planned for downtown Flint in seven different building projects. When combined, the projects total over 150,000 square feet of mixed-use space ranging from the Brown Sugar Café to the First Street Lofts, a seven story apartment complex, to a new headquarters for Rowe Incorporated.

For Additional Information Contact:
Scott Whipple
Project Manager
Uptown Developments, LLC
(810) 238-5555
scott@uptowndevelopments.com