MADOGG

I went to Autoworld the day after it opened and thought it was the coolest thing. I ended going a few times (5-6) all togerther. At the time, I also remember driving past the several blocks down Saginaw Street that were being torn down to make way for Water Street Pavilion. My mom used to work in one of those businesses back in the day. She always said that one of the worst things Flint did was tear down all of those blocks of businesses, which many were still running when the city decided to demolish them. I always thought they could have built Water Street somewhere else downtown without tearing down all those buildings. But, at first, I also thought they possibly could have done something with Autoworld rather than tear it down and then I realized it just brought back old, bad memories. I'm glad Autoworld's gone so we can move foreward an forget about it.

My first post on this site about what I wanted to see in Downtown Flint included an arena similar to Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids. I actually e-mailed the URC and suggested that Don Williamsons proposed arena be built downtown instead of out in Mount Morris Township. I think a arena downtown would bring in people from the surrounding areas as well as the city to shop, go to restaurants and bars. But no one is going to build an arena downtown unless there is a demand for one, which is why people have to start getting the word out now that there is support. Kalamazoo is seriously considering building a arena in their downtown and that city has 40,000 less people than Flint. If Kalamazoo can do it, why can't Flint?

Ya, I know, it gets frustrating plus I've been waiting for something really big to happen for so long, and I'm sure that's the same for many people, especially in this forum. But as you could see, it was like 6 a.m. and I had been up all night.

Hey everyone, it

My philosophy is, let 'em watch me, I'm not doing anything wrong anyway. I have nothing to hide.

I do agree though that there should eventually be some enforced building codes and hold owners to higher standards than before. All the store owners must obide by these codes and be held accountable regarding the overall look of their businesses. If that does not happen then one day you might have a couple store owners allowing their businesses to look run down and then you're back to square one spending more money trying to make the buildings look good again.

I would like to see the dorms go somewhere near the White building or the Durant and something commercial or financial go in the large flat lot. You don't want to have student housing centered directly in the heart of downtown because hopefully, in the not so distant future, when larger companies become attracted to downtown and when it's time to build commercially then there will be prime areas to build on. Plus, building the dorms just north of the river would help revitalize that area along with the possible redevelopment of Windmill Place, the Durant, and the Fifth Ave corridor.

In addition to my last post. If Flint can be known as being the primary hub of East Michigan (this does not include Detroit which is considered Southeast Michigan), then it might be possible to attract new companies to the area. For example, you can begin to establish a financial corridor downtown and bring in numerous banks and they would become the East Michigan main branches. Grand Rapids has West Michigan main branches for all of the major banks and they're all large buildings that employ many white collar people. Thanks.

I've never really considered Flint to be part of Mid-Michigan. Mid-Michigan to me is Lansing, Jackson, and Mount Pleasant. Flint is more East Michigan, along with Port Huron, Lapeer, and the Tri-Cities. I truely believe that Flint needs to develop its own identity. Just a suggestion. Thanks.

Hey, what's up everyone. My name's MADOGG and I'm new to this site, and I recently joined the UrbanFlint site. I care alot about Flint and its well-being. I mentioned on the UrbanFlint site that if they could not find a company or companies to fill Genesee Towers then I thought City Hall should move in. The current City Hall is too conjested, plus Genesee Towers has its own parking ramp for the city employees. The old city hall would become an addition of the police department for the hopefully soon to be increasing number of city police officers. The last thing I want to see downtown is another building razed that could easily be refurbished. Thanks.