The Pierson Road corridor in North Flint runs from the large-scale commercial node at Clio & Pierson, past traditional single-family neighborhoods and Flint Lake Park, to neighborhood commercial nodes at Martin Luther King Avenue and Saginaw Street. The city of Flint’s recent Master Plan prioritizes the stability of the neighborhoods along the corridor, seeking to evolve the area into a retail and pedestrian destination for those living in North Flint neighborhoods as well as include townhome and small multi-family home options.
The Genesee County Land Bank Authority had recently demolished a blighted apartment complex at the intersection of Pierson Road and Cloverlawn Drive, and needed help identifying next steps for the property.
The League engaged Beckett & Raeder, Inc. to develop concept plans for the site, with feedback from Land Bank and city planning staff. While the master plan suggested mixed-use in this area, a retail market analysis showed the area to be already oversupplied with commercial space, so we recommended limiting any mixed-use component to flexible live-work housing or similar small spaces along the Pierson Road frontage.
In May 2018, after a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) process that drew multiple proposals, the Land Bank selected a development team composed of the Imagine Brinshore Group, a national affordable housing developer, and the North Flint Reinvestment Corporation, a neighborhood group already leading efforts along the corridor.
The proposal selected includes plans to build 78 units of affordable, rental housing available to low income residents in a variety of unit types including a three-story building, attached two-story townhomes, and six tiny-homes. This building strategy will help transition from the busy traffic on Pierson Road to the residential neighborhood behind this parcel of land.
The plan requires a mix of funding including conventional financing, developer contributions, and an award of LIHTC. Construction could begin in late 2019.