Aerial photo from City of Bay City shows huge industrial buildings on 48 acre riverfront Uptown site. Left is foundry building and at right is main building where world's largest cranes were assembled. Center is brick powerhouse, just below City Hall.
World's Largest Indoor WaterPark
Eyed to Spark Bay City's Tourism Future
Feasibility Study Underway to Convert Old BrownHoist Factory at Uptown
December 4, 2008
By: Dave Rogers
Can an abandoned industrial dinosaur be retooled with modern technology and marketing to spark a born-again tourist economy?
And, in today's financial climate can any development get off the ground?
Those are the monumental questions that will soon be answered by a so far hush-hush program that would transform Bay City's past into its future.
A feasibility study is reportedly underway considering whether one of the old Industrial BrownHoist buildings can be converted for use as a giant indoor WaterPark.
Some local officials privately say such a development would be "the world's largest indoor WaterPark."
Main manufacturing building at old Industrial BrownHoist/American Hoist site is considered for conversion into WaterPark with accompanying hotel.
The Bay Area Chamber of Commerce facilitated a $10,000 match grant, including $5,000 from the Kantzler Foundation, earlier this year to plan for a hotel/water park and other development at the Uptown at Rivers Edge site located along Bay City's water front.
The Chamber is assisting Paul Rowley, Art Dore, city officials and other local leaders in the new Uptown at RiversEdge public/private partnership that aims to develop a 48 acre riverfront parcel.
Paul Rowley, chair of the public-private Uptown partnership, contacted in Florida, said a meeting next Thursday will provide more information about the study.
The partnership has been working quietly behind the scenes and dozens of business people have made donations of money and time to the proposed development, it was revealed.
Carl Schwartz, of Wolgast Construction Co., Saginaw, one of the members of the public-private partnership for the development, said the site and the existing building infrastructure "lends itself to a WaterPark, that in today's market requires a hotel with it."
Other partners include Dore, Brad Kessel of Independent Bank, Brian Eggers of AKT Peerless Environmental Services, Dominic Monastiere of Chemical Bank, Fred Hollister of Bay Future, Inc., Mayor Charles Brunner and other city officials.
That 48-acre site along the Saginaw River for more than 100 years, 1872 to 1977, was the industrial heart of the city and employed more than 1,000 at its peak.
Mr. Schwartz, vice chair of the partnership, said the feasibility study is being done by Hotel & Leisure Advisors, Cleveland, specialists in hospitality and resort properties.
He described the idea right now as "a vision," adding: "I'm not optimistic that financing will be easy but we all know the climate will change and we're planning for when it starts to melt."
Mr. Schwartz said the partnership is working on several other ideas for the Uptown site and was optimistic that "creative financing solutions" can be found.
History may repeat itself as the Chamber of Commerce led a $1 million fundraising drive in 1927 to finance the move of the Brown Hoisting Company of Cleveland and merger with Bay City's Industrial Works of tycoon William Clements.
As the 1927 campaign progressed, names of donors from the community were published on the front page of The Bay City Times. That added a public aspect and incentive to the effort.
A similar process sparked by the chamber was followed in 1937 when the Electric AutoLite Company was persuaded to leave Toledo, Ohio, and move to Bay City. Community donors put up another million dollars plus to buy the former Wildman Rubber Company and turn it over to AutoLite. Later the firm became the PrestoLite Corporation.
More than $16.3 million in new direct spending here was projected if a proposed Maritime Heritage Center is created at the Uptown site.
Projections are the center would create $26.7 million in new spending in the State of Michigan.
And, the center would create an estimated 373 jobs with annual payroll of $6.3 million and generate $3.9 million in state and local taxes annually, according to the study.
That was the estimate from a study by Certec, Inc., Lexington, Kentucky, consulting firm.
"Given the close proximity of the proposed complex to existing businesses in and around Bay City, they can expect to be frequently patronized by Center visitors," the study report states.
The WaterPark is reportedly being proposed with an accompanying 100-room hotel. Many WaterPark hotel rooms accommodate an entire family, so capacity of the hotel could possibly be several hundred or more, planners theorize.
"A family friendly destination will celebrate the festive nature of Bay City," said Mr. Schwartz, adding:
"In this area any destination attraction needs to have a roof over it, and the main building (nearest Water Street) has a deep foundation with 80-90 foot deep pilings and a steel infrastructure that lends itself to reuse."
Incorporation of the WaterPark hotel into the Maritime Heritage Center would be expected to boost the tourism draw from the projected 255,000 in the third year to perhaps double that figure or more.
The Maritime Heritage Center, expected to have major funding from Dow Corning Corp., is projected to draw 85,000 the first year, 145,000 the second year and 255,000 the third year.
And, with approximately 100,000 visitors a year projected for the proposed USS Edson destroyer museum at the Independence Bridge/Park area, the tourism draw could soon exceed 700,000 a year.
The Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum is hopeful for a positive response from the U.S. Navy in the early part of 2009 and is poised to have the 418 foot ship towed here from Philadelphia by summer.
