Crowdfunding campaign launches for Pontiac’s Saginaw Green park development
FYI
The “Saginaw Green — We’re Growing a Park” presentation is from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 103 N. Saginaw St. in Pontiac. To RSVP, find the event at www.eventbrite.com.
The Pontiac Downtown Business Association is using the crowdfunding website Patronicity for contributions to the Saginaw Green development. Visit patronicity.com/project/saginaw_green to donate.
For more information, call Downtown Manager Michael Boettcher at 248-606-7087 or email info@pontiacdba.net. Visit the Pontiac Downtown Business Association’s website at www.pontiacdba.com, find the organization on Facebook or follow on Twitter @DowntownPontiac.
The Saginaw Green crowdfunding campaign for a new Pontiac park is kicking off this month, and the green space is set to open in a downtown that’s expected to see $70 million in economic development in the next two to three years.
The property was purchased by the Pontiac Downtown Business Association in 2013 in a deal with the City of Pontiac and Michigan Land Bank, and sits on the west side of North Saginaw Street between Warren Avenue and Lafayette Street.
Plans include a gazebo, winding path, a movie screen, green areas and a stone patio. The development replaces a lot that sat vacant for more than 20 years after a building on the site burned down.
“We needed some sort of community space north of M-59 to support the residents and businesses,” said Pontiac Downtown Business Association President Glen Konopaskie. The vacant lot “was blight right on our Main Street and it had to be addressed.”
The downtown association is using the crowdfunding site Patronicity to raise the estimated $25,000 needed to complete the project, and a Feb. 19 presentation to the public is planned.
Contributions to the Saginaw Green project will be boosted by $12,500 in matching funds from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation if fundraising goals are met.
“This is showing how crowdfunding and how small organizations can impact the rebirth of a city,” Konopaskie said.
Contribution levels range from $25 to $1,500 for benches, $3,000 for the park’s power station, $5,000 for the gazebo and $10,000 or more for a title sponsorship.
Konopaskie also expects to launch two art programs and a business attraction plan this year. The 57-block downtown has realized about $50 million in investment since 2011.
Pending projects include the restoration of the Strand Theatre, a Slow’s Bar-B-Q location, a McLaren Oakland emergency department expansion and millions in private real estate investment commitments.
The Pontiac Downtown Business Association took over many duties, including oversight of the Main Street program, when the city’s Downtown Development Authority was dissolved in 2012.
The park’s landscape plan was created by Goldner Walsh Garden & Home. A “Gold Dust” sweetgum tree was planted in the park shortly after it changed hands as a memorial to the late Francile Anderson, a lifelong educator, volunteer and booster for Pontiac and its schools. Anderson passed Sept. 22, 2013.
The Saginaw Green park development is the the first in downtown Pontiac located north of M-59, or Huron Street. Downtown’s other green spaces are McLaren Park and Hidden River Park.
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