What’s up in Downtown Flint, you ask? Just ask Jerin Sage, Director of Placemaking, who is charged with overseeing all operations and functions of the What’s Up Downtown Project (WUDP).
It’s been three years in the making! Communities First, Inc. (CFI) reached its funding goal for Foodie Commons, which is located in Flint at the former Anthony’s Flower Shop and parking lot.
Welcome to Flint. You wouldn’t know it from the outside looking in, but there was a time when our little city in The Mitten couldn’t go a decade without changing the world. We put the country in motion (it’s called Vehicle City for a reason), helped build the middle class, helped win wars, and led advances in civil rights. We’ve invented and innovated across industries. We’ve given the world exceptional artists, musicians, writers, actors and athletes – all from our little seat on the banks of the Flint River. Sure, we’ve had some hard times; lost our identity and purpose for a little while. We were down but never truly beaten. Many have counted us out. We’ve struggled, to put it plainly … but we’ve survived. Flint is a hardworking city, an optimistic city, and we are moving forward with exciting times ahead.
From its very beginning, Kettering University has been a unique institution. “We are different from most other universities,” says University President, Dr. Robert K. McMahan. “Since its founding, Kettering has treated real world practice as equal to classroom learning.” Kettering students spend just as much time at internships gaining hands-on experience as they do behind a desk. It is this style of learning, and the school’s unwavering support of it, that has helped gain Kettering its remarkable reputation across the nation as a trusted source of business and STEM professionals. Its unique style of education has also led to a surprising result. “Business in the real world works by collaboration,” explains McMahan. “What we noticed is that our students were bringing collaboration back from their own real-world experience. We had an idea and began to experiment with space to continue fostering the behavior. It was a hit.”
It’s bright! It’s fun! It’s engaging! It’s the new Sloan Museum and on July 16, its doors will be open for the world to behold its wonders. The project which began as an idea nearly seven years ago has come to completion … and the final product is absolutely astounding. “When I started almost eight years ago,” recalls Sloan Executive Director Todd Slisher, “one of the first things I was asked was ‘what are you going to do about Sloan?’ Well, after years of community input and fundraising, we are ready and we are all very excited to bring this to Flint.”
Kay Schwartz, Director of the Flint Public Library (FPL), remembers February 29, 2020 like it was yesterday. “That was the last day the old FPL was open to the public. It was two weeks before the start of the pandemic and we served nearly 2,000 people that day,” she shares. The next day, the FPL was closed and a complete overhaul and renovation of the facility began.
On August 19, 2021, Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced that Robert Widigan had joined the City of Flint team as the new chief financial officer.
Located in the newly renovated and revitalized former Woodside Church building, directly adjacent to the Mott Community College (MCC) campus, the Lenore Croudy Family Life Center (LCFLC) provides a variety of student services needed to improve success. “This facility was opened as a way to meet student need and insecurity,” says lead LCFLC social worker, Dinah Schaller. “We want to help remove any barriers to a successful education that a student could come across. This Center is for the basic needs of anyone in the Mott family.”
In June, the Flint DDA Board of Directors voted unanimously to appoint Kiaira May its executive director. Her professional experience includes roles at Quicken Loans and Bedrock Real Estate, as well as consulting and project management for Design Core Detroit and the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Michigan. She is the first African American woman to hold the DDA position – here are a few more interesting things about this Flint history maker.
The month of August brings many exciting festivals that bring thousands of visitors to Downtown Flint including the Crim Festival of Races, Back to the Bricks and more. Attendees of these world class events have plenty of other things to enjoy Downtown – unique shops to browse, abundant dining opportunities, a new hotel, inspiring mural art and much more!
It’s a beautiful summer day. The air is warm and the river is refreshingly cool, teeming with wildlife – mink, beaver, turtles and a variety of fish. Bald eagles can be spotted in the trees along the banks.
