WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 4, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — During the past two decades, Pontiac has seen more than its share of loss: commercially, economically and emotionally. The once thriving city lost its namesake automobile manufacturing when the Pontiac brand ended production, and with it went jobs, stability and the pride that comes with a job well done. If that wasn’t enough, Pontiac also said good bye to both the Lions and the Pistons, two teams that had called Pontiac home for years. It wasn’t long before the city began slipping downhill with little-to-no hope of stopping the decline – until now.
In late January a notable group of government, business and finance leaders came together in Pontiac to celebrate a new beginning for the city. The event was the grand opening of the Lafayette Place Development, a $20 million, mixed-use rehabilitation of the city’s historical 80,000-square-foot Sears, Roebuck & Company department store, one of three construction projects helping put the city back on solid ground. Lafayette Place includes 46 residential apartments, a fresh foods market, deli and café, and an Anytime Fitness center. As the city’s largest downtown construction investment in more than 30 years, it was a proud moment for all present, including MAR’s District 9 Director, Allan Daniels, owner of Dr. Daniels and Son Realty, and a nationally recognized land contract and mortgage expert.
Representing MAR members statewide, Allan said he was thrilled to be a part of the event and to see the incredible changes going on in Pontiac, a place he knew well growing up. In addition to Lafayette Place, he said the 18 new single-family homes in the Unity Park neighborhood really made it personal. “My dad was a dentist in Pontiac for many years. So now for me to be back here and to see the redevelopment in places I remember as a child, it really hit home.” Moreover, Allan stressed, the homes were not only built, but will all be sold and closed by March 31st, and have already realized a 20-percent increase in appraised value since construction.
The third project, the renovation of another historic building now called 10 West Lofts, turned 24,000 square-feet of ruin into 14 loft apartments with 9,000 square feet of retail space. In addition, 47 vacant and blighted buildings were demolished in neighborhoods around downtown Pontiac, helping increase property values and improve the sense of safety in the area.
The projects’ original stimulus, $13.7 million, came from HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2, however, Allan said, none of this would have happened without a lot of people working together toward a single goal. “In the beginning, even Pontiac’s Mayor didn’t believe it would ever really happen because he had heard it all before and indeed, nothing came of it. But this time, the stakeholders believed in it. They worked together and leveraged the HUD funds and investors came onboard and financing went through and the result is a new and hopeful Pontiac. So it’s not always a pipedream, sometimes it works!”
Going forward, Allan says Michigan REALTORS® can and must get involved in their own community redevelopment projects and help keep the momentum building. “We have to persevere and do what we do best – shaking hands and meeting people. After all, we are the Michigan Association of REALTORS® and our middle name is ‘Association.’ The lesson to take away is we need to harness our skills for the greater good of our communities and become a part of something that is bigger than ourselves.”
The Pontiac Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) was one of 12 in Michigan that received part of almost $224 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The two-year program incorporated planning, development, demolition, and land use to upgrade and revitalize some of Michigan’s most blighted neighborhoods. The neighborhoods were identified by working groups from cities and land banks with the goal to remake them as desirable places to live and work, attracting people and investment.
The Pontiac project included the following:
City of Pontiac
Oakland County
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority
West Construction Services (Lafayette Place)
TDG Architects (Lafayette Place)
GJ & JA Investments LLC, (10 West Lofts)
MICCO Construction (10 West Lofts)
Banah Corp. (10 West Lofts)
Home Renewal Systems
Community Housing Network
Venture Incorporated
US Bank
The Michigan Magnet Fund
Great Lakes Capital Fund, LLC
Key Bank
Charter One Bank
Huntington National Bank
PNC Mortgage
Opportunity Resource Fund
The Pontiac NSP2 Steering Committee included:
Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner, Chair
Rev. Douglas Jones, Pastor, Welcome Missionary Baptist Church
Richard Marsh and Ty Hinton, City of Pontiac
Teresa Rodges, POH Riley Foundation/McLaren Oakland Hospital
Lon Bone, Genisys Credit Union
