DDA Shows WASHINGTON Pontiac Progress

Folks: (Submitted by Marcia Battles)

City's revitalization efforts honored

Web-posted Jan 25, 2005
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Daily Oakland Press

The city's efforts toward revitalization have earned national recognition and were featured at a national symposium in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Pontiac is being touted as a model city at the National Trust Preservation Development Symposium, which will run through today at Jurys Washington Hotel.

Mayor Willie Payne, who is also a member of the Downtown Development Authority, gave the opening remarks to preservationists and community revitalization leaders from across the nation.

Then Payne and DDA Executive Director Sandy-Michael McDonald presented a case study of Pontiac's communitywide effort to revitalize the city as a model for other communities.
"We want to put ourselves in a position to receive some of the (Preservation Development Initiative) dollars," said McDonald, explaining why so much effort went into Pontiac's presentation and why so many people involved in the revitalization process went to Washington.
Besides Payne and McDonald, others scheduled to participate were council President Everett Seay; Councilwoman Susan Shoemaker; Councilman Charlie Harrison, who is also a DDA board member; and Kathie Henk, a DDA board member and vice president of the Downtown Business Association. Members of each Main Street committee, members of the Historical Commission and the planning director were also planning to attend.

Pontiac was one of only three cities scheduled to give a presentation out of the eight cited for their progress, and is the smallest city of the group, which includes Chicago, Philadelphia, Duluth, St. Paul, Miami, Santa Barbara and Macon, McDonald said.

In bringing together government, commercial interests and neighborhoods, Pontiac has created a $2.7 million facade improvement fund, conducted a report to create a vision for a long-vacant urban-renewal lot in the heart of downtown next to the Phoenix Center and embarked on a residential neighborhood improvement initiative, a PDI press release noted.

The Preservation Development Initiative is funded through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The initiative provides more than $1.8 million in technical assistance, grants and loan funds.

McDonald said before he left for Washington many residents and officials involved in the revitalization were being featured in the 45-minute high-tech presentation.

The city's presentation also included a 7-foot by 8-foot model of the downtown that is on the main display floor at the hotel, McDonald said.

The city of 66,400 is part of the Oakland County Main Street program, which is part of the National Trust.

In December, Pontiac's Main Street program and its progress were evaluated by national and county officials and given high marks.

The Preservation Development Initiative provides expertise and grants to cities to help with preservation of downtowns and adjacent neighborhoods.