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Christina McKenna, Communications Director
McKenna Associates
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Township takes control of blighted mall, plans new town center in place of decay

(Northville, MI; April 15, 2008) McKenna Associates, the Midwest’s largest community planning and economic development consulting firm, together with Buena Vista Charter Township in Saginaw County, Michigan, has declared victory in a multi-year effort to rid the community of a massive, blighted shopping mall and begin to replace it with a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly mixed-use town center that will serve as a source of promise, prosperity and community pride for generations to come. In the historic deal, McKenna assisted Buena Vista in taking title to of the Fort Saginaw Mall as part of a negotiated settlement that brought to a close the eminent domain lawsuit the Township filed against the mall’s previous owner and developer, the Cafaro Company of Youngstown, OH. Buena Vista filed the suit late last year as a last-ditch effort to improve dilapidated and dangerous conditions that had eroded public safety and quality of life in Buena Vista for years. 

“This is the classic case of proper use of eminent domain laws to remove blight,” said Phillip C. McKenna, President and CEO of McKenna Associates. “When absentee landlords allow sites to deteriorate and blight to fester at the heart of a community, local government leaders must have the capability to step in to protect public safety and surrounding property owners.” McKenna went on to say, “With this bold and courageous step Buena Vista leaders have taken control of this vital property, and can now reclaim the Township’s future.”  

The sale took effect on March 31, 2008. Plans to demolish 380,000 square feet of building—the remains of Saginaw County's first enclosed mall--- and remediate the 34-acre site have already begun.

“With a highly desirable location just off I-75, this site has historically been enormously successful as a retail destination and center of civic life,” said Sarah Traxler, Senior Planner for McKenna Associates. “Now the Township is positioned to once again realize success and build on it.” 

The purchase is part of a multi-year effort by McKenna Associates to assist the Township in eradicating blight that has existed at and emanating from the mall site, especially since the departure of the anchor tenant, Kmart, in 2004.  McKenna planners drafted a redevelopment strategy in conjunction with residents, officials and business leaders. McKenna also conducted market analysis to determine market-appropriate uses for the property.

The mall’s previous owners ignored repeated Township efforts to improve the site, leaving the Board no choice but to file a lawsuit to force sale of the property under Michigan ’s Property Rehabilitation Act 344, which allows local governments to purchase blighted property from non-responsive owners at fair market value. Testimony had begun in the case when settlement talks resulted in the negotiated sale, bringing to a close litigation and speeding the remediation of the site.

The negotiated sale for $3.13 million dollars includes purchase of the mall and surrounding property, including out-lots and a small number of buildings occupied by tenants. Funds for the purchase were raised through bonds issued by the Township Board, following a unanimous vote in November 2006. Through a commonly used public financing mechanism, the bonds are secured by the Buena Vista Charter Township ’s Downtown Development Authority’s (DDA) future revenue stream.

“McKenna Associates’ guidance and expertise has given our community a brand new start,” said Buena Vista Township Supervisor Dwayne Parker. “Acquiring this property is the first and most important step in a careful campaign of events that will bring watershed change to the quality of life, jobs, and the economy in Buena Vista , and McKenna, working with our Manager, DDA and Board of Trustees, made it happen.” McKenna provided the following services: project planning, site design, market analysis, public participation, project management and leadership, project financing assistance, project budgeting, municipal communications and public relations, and site acquisition. McKenna also identified the financing strategy for condemnation which required cash up front.

McKenna Associates has a 30 year history of providing community planning, design and economic development and communication services to Michigan communities. Buena Vista has contracted McKenna to continue the process by preparing to market the site to interested reusers and developers already in line and involve the public in setting goals for public improvements.

McKenna Associates provides community planning, landscape architecture, urban design, zoning, economic development, and public communication and participation services to more than 200 cities, counties, townships, villages and select private firms across the Midwest. Headquartered in Northville, Michigan; McKenna maintains branch offices in Detroit and Kalamazoo, Michigan and Hudson and Lebanon, Ohio. For more information about McKenna Associates, please call 888-226-4326 or visit mcka.com.