A thriving downtown necessary to attract GenXers (Michigan cities)

Saginaw News ^ | 3-23-03 | MARY McDONOUGH

[Dan from Michigan]

A thriving downtown necessary to attract GenXers

Sunday, March 23, 2003

MARY McDONOUGH
FOR THE SAGINAW NEWS

How to breathe new life into aging downtown Saginaw is a question many leaders are trying to answer, but there is no easy solution.

Still, communities can't attract young Generation Xers to live and work there without a thriving downtown, said Bill Rustem, senior vice president of Public Sector Consultants Inc., a Lansing-based think tank.

"In Michigan, we're always looking for the silver bullet, the casinos or the big public development projects," he said, "but we just have not concentrated enough on the downtown areas."

Public Sector Consultants conducted a study that indicated communities throughout Michigan, with the exception of Ann Arbor, lag behind areas in other states in luring high-tech companies and the young workers they employ.

While enjoying a beverage at the Red Eye Caffe, 205 N. Hamilton in Saginaw, 20-year-old Steve Cronkright confirmed what the survey showed.

Will he remain in Saginaw County?

"No way," he answered.

"I want to go to Oregon. It's a lot nicer-looking than Michigan. It's just beautiful there. Saginaw is not a bad place, but it has its problems. That's for sure."

Rustem said Gov. Jennifer Granholm's creation of a land-use council demonstrates that the state finally recognizes the need to assist cities in developing desirable downtowns.

Veronica Horn, vice president of the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, said improving the image and perception of the city overall is key in persuading young people to move in.

She said the chamber, Saginaw Community Foundation, Saginaw Future Inc. and other organizations are joining to promote Old Saginaw City, rid the community of blight and revamp the riverfront.

"We've got a number of initiatives we're working on, including the riverfront development project," Horn said. "We're hoping to dredge the river and make it available for recreation someday. We're hoping that in five years, you won't recognize the riverfront."

[Dan from Michigan]

Background - Saginaw is a blue collar small city 30 miles north of Flint. It's literally a car city for the most part and has gone through some hard times with GM's cutbacks.

This would apply to most mid sized or larger cities at least in Michigan, not just Saginaw. I'm not a cityguy myself(although my parents came from the city), but I do know that while downtowns are important, I'd say the most importants things are.
1. SCHOOLS. Bad public schools mean parents with kids will flee the city. Private schools are expensive. I'm not familiar with Saginaw Schools, but Detroit schools are legendary. Legendary for their incompetance.

2. Neighboorhoods. You can have the best downtowns around, but if the neighboorhoods are bad, no one will move there. Detroit does have a lot of downtown attractions. Greektown, Cobo Hall, Auto show, the casinoes, Sports, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Symphony Orchestra. A lot of people will go there and spend their money...and then drive home, AWAY from the city.

3. Jobs - Self-explanitory. Saginaw, Flint, Detroit, and Ypsilanti were hit hard with Auto Plant closings. If the jobs aren't there, people will move.

4. Taxes - I'm not familiar with Saginaw, but Detroit taxes are sky high. There's an income tax if you work in Detroit or Lansing. There a living tax as well. People vote for their pocketbook.

5. City(and County) Government. Related to Taxes, but when there are bad mayors and the like, people are going to move.

[olivia3boys]

No we don't. Gen Xers are all in their 30s now, raising small children. We want suburbs and good schools and backyards and Trader Joe's with lots of parking. And we want 7 mile commutes to slightly larger suburbs.

[nascarnation]

Just show them "Roger and Me"

[Pan_Yans Wife]

I grew up in Milford, (miss it terribly, loved Milford) and did not have the benefits of Bloomfield or Southfield tax dollars to support excellent public school education. However, people complain about the amount of money spent on education, and neglect the fact that throwing more money at the situation, will not make better students. Students who want to learn, and parents who support them, will succeed in schools. I was an excellent student, because I wanted to be!

Having said that, my husband and I live in the Atlanta area. And, should his employer want to move him to one of their buildings in the Detroit metro area, I would definitely say, NO!... the commute around Atlanta is long enough, and I know the commute in metro Detroit is about as long. Urban sprawl and larger metro-area commutes make life intolerable in many large cities.

Being a thirty-something myself, I think Atlanta has more to offer me and my family. I don't see Detroit as being that desirable anymore. Or, at least it wasn't in the early nineties. Kindly inform me if I am mistaken, and the city and South-Eastern Michigan is really turning around.

[Dan from Michigan]

Southfield has changed some since you were here.

BTW - I'm from Brighton(which I don't consider the Detroit area) just southwest of Milford. Unfortunatly, almost everyone that's fleeing the Detroit area is now moving out here. :( I miss the phesants and pre-Walmart days.

[frodolives]

Yes, number one chore- build new schools, nice, community based, pay the teachers the highest wage to work there, put in "innovative" programs for the yuppie-ettes. No matter what other method of urban revitalization is tried, a great school is a magnet. Developers will want to build nearby, and renovate quaint old houses. The infrastructure (sewers, curbs and gutters) is in place, there's real big full grown TREES! Make tax incentives to stop pushing development outward to the suburbs. Imagine the gas savings. Kids could walk to school- the list is endless.

[holdmuhbeer]

Your right, I think these guys are a little confused.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

In the ten years that my parents owned a home in Milford, the value of their home increased by two hundred percent! Everyone loved Milford! Milford is so expensive now, that I no longer know anyone who lives there, nor could I afford to live there. I remember Brighton, too, of course.

[canyon]

I am originally from Flint. I think the #1 problem has been a corrupt local government (mostly mayor). My parents still live in the Flint area and it gets more and more depressing every time I visit.

[Notwithstanding]

NB: the governess noted in the state of the state address her aspiration that our cities become "hip" (her word)

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Hip is so fleeting... stable, quaint, strong, viable, family-oriented, thriving, historical, comfortable, etc... are much better qualities in a community.

[Dan from Michigan]

I heard that! Hip to me....a 'no liberals need move here' sign by all borders to Livingston County :)

[Notwithstanding]

1. Institute school choice and the vile pubic schools will disappear (they will be closed as private schools thrive, or they will take drastic steps to improve to the point where they are as good for kids as private schools).

2. States should takeover cities that cannot govern themselves efficiently (cities rule in lieu of the state, and the state can reassert its role if the cities are not capable - why would we continue to subsidize these cities with state cash only to see it wasted).

NB: both scenarios seriously weaken govt employee unions - the cause of bloated bureaucracies that provide less service at ever higher cost.

[canyon]

One other thing that us "Michiganders" cannot ignore is the "union thug" mentality. I never noticed this entitlment issue until I moved out of Michigan.

[Major Matt Mason]

Substitute Buffalo, NY for Saginaw, MI, and this article could have been written about the area I live in. Like Saginaw, Buffalo has been talking ad nauseum about developing their waterfront; and, like Saginaw, the local politicians are clamoring for casino gambling as a magic bullet. Clearly, there isn't much original thinking taking place in the minds of many of our politicians, since they all seem to recommend the exact same remedies to their problems.

The best thing for the government bureaucrats to do, of course, is to simply get out of the way, and let the free market take its course. Stop placing egregious regulations and taxes on small, medium and large businesses, and stop trying to manage outcomes, and these Rust Bowl cities will start to comeback.

[weegee]

"...20-year-old Steve Cronkright confirmed ..."

Ahem, 20-year olds were born in 1982 or 1983. This is far outside of Generation-X/the BabyBust Generation (which ended somewhere in the mid-1970s).

[Notwithstanding]

Woops: It was not the "state of the state", but it was her as governess.

http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:R-YYEoOYWe4C:www.freep.com/news/politics/polcol10_20030210.htm+granholm+hip&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

Introducing her top economic development aide she said, "We want to create cool cities, hip places to live and work."

[Notwithstanding]

Exactly - I wish i could feel good about moving back to WNY (home).

[weegee]

And we want 7 mile commutes to slightly larger suburbs.

I've actually seen a "community" newspaper in Houston (sister publication to a paper that bills itself as the Upper Kirby Progressive) that took a position that improving highway commuter traffic flow was a bad thing because it would encourage more people to live farther out and also encourage more outside (outer 610-Loop) dwellers to come into town for commerce, dining, and fun. Funny how they don't put up the same resistance to incorporating outlying regions for tax dollars.

[canyon]

I think "Shock and Awe" said really fast sounds like a good name for the new "hip" Michigan city.