Saginaw DDA outlines grants, beautification, safety measures and $11 million Adams Street redevelopment

The Saginaw Downtown Development Authority told the Planning Commission it has expanded several downtown programs to support redevelopment, public art and safety while leveraging partnerships with Saginaw Future and other local organizations.

Saginaw Future’s Community and Economic Development Director Steve Hensley said the DDA’s revenue largely derives from a 2-mill levy approved by voters in 2017 and that annual receipts rose from about $125,000 historically to roughly $145,000 in the most recent budget cycle. He said the DDA increased its facade-improvement grant line to $50,000 this year and is launching a public-arts grant program of about $7,500 annually.

Hensley described multiple grant and program lines that the DDA administers: a facade-improvement program, special-event assistance for nonprofit events, annual beautification (flower pots and holiday planters), and partial underwriting for downtown security measures including police overtime and cameras. He said the DDA currently budgets about $25,000 toward police overtime in the warmer months and supports recurring power and internet costs for some security cameras.

Hensley listed recent and ongoing projects the DDA has supported or helped advance: façade and signage work for long-standing businesses; a $11,000,000 redevelopment project at 303 Adams Street led by Sheehan Development to create street-level commercial space and 30 upper-floor apartments; rehabilitation work at the Savoy Bar and Grill; the Shook Hotel brownfield pursuit and tax-abatement discussions for mixed-use redevelopment; Jefferson Apartments (approx. 32,000 sq ft); Westbank Lofts (approx. 40,000 sq ft); and work on the Behringer Fireproof Building. He said grant support also aided recent small-business sign and façade projects and special-event sponsorships.

Hensley said the DDA works closely with the Downtown Saginaw Association and Old Town Saginaw Association, the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, Saginaw Economic Development Corporation and other partners, and that Saginaw Future provides much of the day-to-day program administration funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) support. He noted that those administrative funding sources are subject to federal changes.

The DDA presentation emphasized the agency’s targeted, modest budget and the reliance on partnerships to extend reach; Hensley said continued investment in façade grants, special events, beautification, public art and safety remains central to downtown strategy.

Ending: The presentation was given for informational purposes; commissioners thanked the DDA and asked how the agency could better publicize its work to increase public awareness of available grants and programs.