SAGINAW -- Once a hotel then a low-income housing complex for thirty years, the Bancroft-Eddy properties in downtown Saginaw are now in store for a major makeover and their much-anticipated sale was finalized this week.
By mid-summer the corner of East Genesee and Washington could be the hip hangout for young professionals. That's when renovations at the historic Bancroft-Eddy buildings are expected to be complete – with restaurants and stores on the first floor and luxury apartments above.
"I think this is just another sign that there is interest in building in the riverfront area,” Tom Miller, economic development specialist at Saginaw Future said.
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority sold the buildings to Lakewood, Ohio-based Lakeshore Management.
The $5 million project aims to provide safe rental housing and attract more businesses and foot traffic to the downtown area, but it's not without its challenges.
Miller said, “When you take a building of that age and that size there are a number of things that need to be done to sort of retrofit it for future use.”
The project includes refinishing the units' interior, putting in new flooring, kitchen appliances and other amenities.
If successful, city leaders say, the historic buildings at Saginaw's prime corner could foster new growth.
Lakeshore hopes to have restaurants and stores signed by the beginning of March. Apartments should be available to renters by mid-summer.
