High above Flint, this building towers above all others. Sweeping views of the river and the city. From up here you can see clearly why Flint was a powerhouse city, once. This space should be $500 per sf, but it was empty now and for the last 10+ years. Once there was Auto World below, GMs beating heart - the largest corporation in the world. This running track was once a midday break for office staff on the top floor.
When I lived in Flint at the beautifully restored Durant Apartments next door, I watched both candidate Trump and H. Clinton enter this building in 2016 for speeches as Flint was roiling from the Water Crisis. The lower floors are active as University of Michigan's lecture hall.
What becomes of Cities like Flint, which dot the American interior? You get to decide. You really do. Will you continue to shop at soulless strip malls or Amazon? Will you decide to build a suburban cul de sac track home? Or will you engage with this history and make it, shape it again to it's glory?
It is not easy, it may not even make sense. It will absolutely be harder and more expensive than slapping together a templated design which are popping up around our country. But... if you saw the view... your heart would soar too.
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