PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — After decades of struggle, county, state and city leaders say a downtown transformation in Pontiac could be a turning point for the city.
I was there at the construction site downtown as transformation into a major new county building begins.
Watch Glenda Lewis' video report below:
“We're standing in the place where the Phoenix Center used to be, but now it’s a bright, sunny street and in a year and a half, you are not going to recognize it,” Oakland County Executive David Coulter said.
As the windows begin going up on the new building for 700 Oakland County employees, including the executive, hope is also on the rise for those with Pontiac in their heart.
“I am so excited about what is happening because it is not only bringing new innovation, but it is preserving the history,” resident Tay Lee said.
We caught Lee and her family coming out of the iconic Flagstar Strand Theater, where she was part of an event promoting positive ideas about Pontiac.
“So now, you're bringing both together, and it’s allowing the people of Pontiac to not only be able to be a part of it, but to be able to feel it, to see it and to also dream big again,” Lee said.
“It’s really a part of the comeback of Pontiac,” another resident said. “Pontiac is one of those cities just like Detroit that went through bankruptcy. Pontiac has been one of those cities that has faced its ghosts, its monsters. But this is a revitalization that is happening, especially in Oakland County.”
The future is meeting history at its door. TEDx Pontiac curator Dre Thompson took us inside for a look at the layout of the special event that will have 18 world-renowned speakers, vendors and entertainment in a place where progress through partnership builds up the city’s renovation.
“I am so privileged to say support from state representatives like Brenda Carter, state senators like Sylvia Santana, Executive David Coulter,” Thompson said. “I love Oakland County, I love the efforts being made to resurge Pontiac in a positive light and do more in this area. And I’m just happy to be a part of that in a small way.”
County and city leaders took to the podium for a press conference on Tuesday to re-affirm the resurrection of Pontiac’s place in history.
“I’m loving that you see this building coming back to life. It has been dormant for decades,” Pontiac Mayor Mike McGuiness said.
“This is the county seat of Oakland County for a reason. It helped put the world on wheels, it helped Oakland County become the prosperous and successful county that is and it’s not lost on me that in the most successful, prosperous county most in Michigan, it one of the communities that has struggled from disinvestment over the years,” Coulter said.
The former Phoenix Center site will be two new parking decks.
