Near Century-Old Factory Building May Be Focal Point of RiversEdge
Preservation of Albert Kahn Building Favored by Some City Officials
September 12, 2003
By: Dave Rogers
Former Kahn factory site at foot of Columbus Avenue at Water Street on the Saginaw River is virtually cleared and awaits consultants' recommendations for redevelopment.
The old machine shop of the Industrial Works, founded in 1870, may become the focal point of redevelopment of the 48-acre riverfront site at Columbus Avenue and Water Street.
The site is nearly cleared of materials used by Bay Aggregatesand has been vacated recently by Stress-Con, structural concrete manufacturer.
Saving the building was favored by Robert Anderson, development director, who is leaving city employment to work for Gregory Construction Co., Saginaw and Bay City.
But other planning and development officials say there not only is potential in one of the old buildings, but also precedent in projects in other cities which have transformed old industrial buildings into attractive retail or entertainment centers. These cities include Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and others.
A larger part of the machine shop building, constructed in 1912, was designed by noted Detroit architect Albert Kahn, who also designed the office building on Washington Avenue used most recently by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The importance of the Bay City industrial building is pointed out by the fact that it is cited in two books: "Industrial and Commercial Buildings" published by Kahn in 1924 and "The Works: The Industrial Architecture of the United States," by Betsy Hunter Bradley.
"Albert Kahn was the master of factory design," says Bay City's architectural historian Dale Wolicki. "He practically invented the modern factory."
An open upper structure featuring extensive use of glass to provide natural light has been noted as an outstanding feature of the building by members of the city's Architectural Review Committee, headed by architect Duane Anderson, no relation to RobertAnderson.
City officials will meet next week with the Urban Land Institute of Washington, D.C., and the Weitzman Group, of New York, firms which will assist the city under a $178,000 contract for consulting on the RiversEdge project.
"Let's face it, none of us on city staff have ever tackled a redevelopment project this large; we need help," a city official said privately.
Some of the urban redevelopment projects using old industrial structures involve retail plazas, entertainment and public gathering places, the officials noted.
Firms which have submitted proposals to redevelop the site include Dore Development LLC and Burton-Katzman Development Co. of Bingham Farms, a Detroit suburb. Local businessman Art Dore, heading a blue ribbon team of local entrepreneurs, has continually urged giving a local group the first opportunity to handle the project because of the commitment of local members to the community.
The City Commission has ruled out suggestions that agambling casino become a major attraction of RiversEdge. Likewise, the idea of more condominium housing also has been downplayed. The question now is: what ideas can the consultants generate which will bring in the hordes of visitors to revitalize the area and make the redevelopment a success?