Someone has a clue

The front page of the Saginaw News from Wednesday October 17, 2007 reads "A million visitors, but impact on city's downtown takes time." This article, written by Jean Spenner, has some very valid points. Development does radiate and the Temple Theatre and The Dow Event center are definitely the hub of activity and the anchor of the future of downtown. Investment in downtown however, is going to take more than the Shaheen family and the County. Smaller businesses like the Spicer Group, AKT Peerless and architects WTM and TSSF surely help, but many more are needed. Small companies that rely on local businesses will attract those support businesses as well as restaurants and lounges that will serve the employees that travel to downtown daily. As a former employee of two of the companies listed above, I spent a lot of money in downtown Saginaw. At places like Wally's sandwich shop, Rally's, Michigan Photo, Jacobson's (when it was open) Savoy bar and grill, Ramone's Taco Hut (best Mexican food I've ever had by the way) and many other places. That's just me. There are hundreds if not thousands of people working downtown every day. What boggles my mind is why lawyers, doctors and accountants pay the high prices for land and buildings in the suburbs when inexpensive office space exists downtown? Some say it's a "safety" issue, others say it's simply the "perception" of an unsafe area. I think that both are entirely possible, but I do not believe them.

But why do people say it's unsafe downtown? This is a tough question that can't be answered simply. The answer may invoke hard discussions on race and culture. It's obvious that there is crime in Saginaw, and a lot of it. But why downtown? The police headquarters are right there. To answer that we'll have to travel to a whole new forum of why do we have crime? And what does crime feed on? That will lead to discussions on morals and values; which will lead to parenting and lack there of; and that will lead to race and even religion. Personally I believe that while the statistics may point to an issue of race, it's really an issue of values and morals, not black or white. So is this where we start to save a city?

But how?

My next thought was "but how could I save Saginaw?" So many people have tried to do this and do that. Developers that poured millions of dollars into downtown. Religious leaders that have tried to unit under a common element, Spirituality. So far nothing has succeeded. Maybe it just takes time. More time than I'll see in my lifetime. Well, I just couldn't settle for that and figured the least I could do is try. Maybe take a different approach. While I believe the rebirth of a city needs to have a spiritual start, recycling a city just needs a group of citizens who simply believe. It certainly doesn't hurt if they also ask for help from God above.

I think the problem here lies in the methods that have been taken. The city, for example, at one point hired a consultant to design a new downtown. This company from out of the area did a little research, talked to a few people, maybe even held a few open forums. Then they presented a plan. Was it a good one? Possibly, I personally do not remember the details of it. My point though, is it did not involve the entire community.

That's where this blog comes into play. It's time for every citizen to voice their opinions. From time to time, I will present scenarios and questions on this blog. You, my fellow blogger's, are challenged to respond openly and honestly and tell me what you would like to tell the city and community.

The intro

My name is David, I was born and raised in Saginaw. In fact, I was raised just 5 or 6 blocks West of the river near downtown. When I was high school age we moved to Saginaw township where I attended Douglas MacArthur High School (yep, that dates me). I grew up in a construction family. My father was a general contractor while my uncles were painters. I spent 2 years at a technical school in Tampa Florida where I earned an Associates degree in Architectural Design and Drafting. The main focus was to learn how to assist an architect or engineer and to use CAD. I became very proficient at CAD and when I returned to Saginaw I went to work for a prominent civil engineering firm. This began the journey to where I am today. Today, I am studying and taking the nine divisions of the ARE (Architect Registration Exam). Each division is about a 3 hour exam. As of this day, I've taken one and passed it. While studying for the second exam, which deals in urban planning, I began to realize something I've had buried deep inside. I started to bring together all these little sketches and ideas I had in mind for many, many years and decided I needed to put them into a logical order. To find out what lies behind the idea, and why I came up with it in the first place. To figure out if they could possibly be implemented, or if they were just dreams. These sketches and ideas led me to realize that what I was doing was trying to save a city, a city that I love and want to see flourish. A city that I want to be the best at what ever it does. A city that breeds people of culture, sophistication and compassion. A place that companies what to relocate to, a place that people of all races and walks of life want to call their home and to raise their children. I decided I needed to Save Saginaw.